The Story of the Darkness Dragoon
by Queen of the Faeries1
Summary: She was their mysterious leader, their pillar of strength, the wall they leaned on. But who had she to lean on? This is her story.
1. The Beginning of the New Journey

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The Beginning of a New Journey

"So this is the city of Fletz." Haschel says, staring around.

Fletz is a light town decorated in sky blue and white. A stream cuts through its center, flowing in from the ocean. The houses are made with ceramic tiles, and there are many strange astronomy tools around. The castle towers over it all. The pale blue decorations of it and the small stream reminds me of Damia. I miss her.

Dart kneels down by the bridge, smiling just a bit.

"Dart, what is it?" Shana asks, bending down beside him.

"Look at this. This bridge is named after a woman named Claire. My mother's name was Claire." Dart explains. 

"Really?" Haschel turns quickly from observing a garden with vegetables in it. "My runaway daughter is named Claire too!" he smiles, the several lines around his eyes deepening. "There may be a secret connection between us..." he jokes.

"It's impossible to have such a coincidence." I declare.

"Exactly." Albert begins to launch into one of his explaining modes. "Let's just say the population of Serdio is one million. 550,000 of those people are women. Four percent of them are named Claire. Therefore, there are...22,000 women that are named Claire. Furthermore, the-"

"Just looking at them you can tell the difference." I interrupt the King.

Haschel is a few inches shorter than Dart, and while Dart is fair, Haschel has dark hair and eyes. Dart is slighter, with well-toned muscles and shifting eyes. They look nothing alike.

"Indeed," Albert muses. "Cranioscopically speaking, the distance between their skulls, their eyeballs, and—"

"Let's go. He'll talk all night if we let him." I say. The king talks way too much.

We need supplies; we must go to the marketplace. But the merchants behind their stands all turn and scatter when we near. They duck under their stands and hide, or run into nearby larger stores. 

"Oh shoot! Run!"

"What?" Shana tries to stop a young woman, who just shakes off her hand and flees down the street, her shopping bag smacking against her thigh with each step. "What did we do?" 

"I don't think it's us. It's her." 

A girl descends from the steps leading up to the palace. But while most Tiberoan people are dark-skinned because of the sun and heat, this girl is pale. She is beautiful, with fine blonde hair pinned up elegantly on her head and deep forest-green eyes. She wears a dress ranging in the colors of red and pink. She looks elegant and serene. 

But when she speaks, it is anything but serene. She glares, her hands on her hips.

"I heard someone say 'shoot'. Who was it?" She demands, looking around. "Where the hell is everyone? I came out here to see all you little people, and you all run off! I'm the princess! You have to be nice to me!" Her voice would be melodious if she wasn't screeching like an angered owl. "Where is everyone?"

Even I am a little worried when her eyes fall upon us. 

"Hey! Who are you people? I've never seen you here before!"

Albert bows nervously. "I'm Albert of Serdio. These are my friends—"

"Who's that?" Emille jabs a finger toward Dart.

"That is Dart, my Lady. He's from Seles, and—"

"I don't care where he's from. He's cute. So are you." She flounces her skirt and shakes her hair back. "Why are you here?" 

"We're here to talk to King Zior. We want to know if he's seen someone named Lloyd."

"Who's Lloyd?"

"He is a murderer and a bandit." Albert replies tightly. "We think he might have passed through here, maybe to the Valley. We want to know if we can go there."

Her forest-green eyes widen. "Why would you want to go through there? It's a scary place. It's not fun at all, and it's swarming with bandits."

"We're not afraid of bandits." I tell her.

"Well, you should be! They're scary! They could kill you in a second."

"I doubt it." I gesture to my sword. "I'm very good with this."

She backs away from me. "You're weird. Stay away from the Valley, do you hear me? Stay away from the bandits and the Valley!" She looks around, annoyed. "This place bores me. I don't even know why I'm required to make an appearance to these idiots. I'm out of here." She sweeps back up the stairs to the palace, swerving a long way around a pregnant woman, muttering something about pregnancy being a hell on wheels.

"That's Princess Emille?" Haschel says in disbelief.

"What a brat!" Shana exclaims, which surprises me. Shana does not dislike many people. "She was so mean!" 

__

True, she's a spoiled little child, but… There is something odd about the way she behaved when the bandits were brought up. Warning us to stay away may seem like she worried for our safety, but for the look in her eyes, the threatened look of a cornered animal. Is she protecting the bandits, perhaps?

Albert frowns. "I heard she was very sweet! Oh, if this is a dream, please wake me up! They said she was the quietest, most serene princess in all of Endiness. But recently, she's been acting like a totally different person. I don't understand. I'm supposed to get married to her!"

"Supposed to?"

"It's been an arranged marriage since we were children. I'm supposed to get married to that princess!"

"You mean Princess Emille?" the man who had said 'shoot' pokes his head out of the inn door. "She's gone now, right? Man, if you're gonna get married to her, I pity you! Okay, let me explain. I think it happened around six months ago, that's when she changed. She used to be so sweet, walking around the marketplace, talking to us commoners. But six months ago, she changed. Now she's horrible!"

"What happened six months ago?" Haschel queries.

The man shrugs. "I dunno. Princess Lisa might know, though. She hasn't changed. And neither has King Zior. But the king believes that it's only a phase. He overlooks what a terrible person she is."

Shana turns to Dart, asking if we are still going to go to the Castle. When he replies yes, all five members of the party start toward the stairs, but the large guard shakes his head. "No one may enter the Twin Castle in Fletz. It is King Zior's direct orders."

"Why?" Shana wants to know.

"There have been many bandits in Tiberoa recently. King Zior does not want any trouble in the castle. Please leave." The guard says, with the utmost politeness.

I begin to draw my sword.

Both Dart and Albert stop me. "Rose, don't. We'll just find another way." Our leader says. "Don't do anything rash."

A bit reluctantly, I sheathe my sword. I had forgotten the taste of blood against metal.

We stop at the bar to discuss what we should do. 

"We're here to pursue Lloyd, don't forget." Dart warns us. "Emperor Doel said he was heading toward Tiberoa, and Fletz is the capital here. Maybe someone here knows about him."

"Welcome!" The waitress, a dark-skinned woman who has been talking nonstop to someone at the bar, comes up to us, eyes glimmering. "You're not from around here, are you? I can tell just by looking at you! Let me tell you something about the land here. Haven't you seen the mosiacs on the paths? That's because Tiberoans have faith in the stars. Do you want to hear more?" The look in her eyes tells me that she is dying to talk.

"Actually…we're here to look for someone. Do you know a man named Lloyd? He has platinum hair."

Kaffie thinks for a minute. "Nope. Never heard of him. Is he new?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't know. But you're more interested in a man than the stars?!"

Shana is busy staring out of the window. One of her hands is clutched to her heart. "Dart? Did you notice something? It's already nighttime, but even during the day, when we arrived, I saw that moon up in the sky. It hasn't moved an inch."

The warrior gets up and confirms that.

"That's strange."

"No, that moon is always there. Tell you what. You should go ask Fester to explain it to you. His house is right next door to the bar. But he's a bit weird in the head. All he cares about here is astrology and astronomy and whatever. But then again, that's what Fletz is known for. Everyone here studies the moon and the stars. And did I tell you? The..."

I tune her out after the first few minutes. As I had observed before, Kaffie does not stop talking. I signal to the bartender, and he hands me a new glass of wine. 

Albert watches as I down several glasses. "You better slow down, Rose. Drinking ruins your fighting skills."

It does not matter for me. After all the time I have been alive, my liver automatically neutralizes any alcohol I consume. "I could still beat you up." I reply almost courteously, taking another sip.

The King just shakes his head.

Finally, Shana and Dart manage to quiet down the waitress, and we leave, quickly, for Fester's house.

Dart knocks politely with his knuckles on the door. "Excuse me? Is anyone home?" The lights are on, but no one comes to answer the door. "Hello? Fester?"

"Allow me." I mutter, ducking past Dart. Loudly, I use the side of my hand and rap on the door until it opens.

Dart begins the conversation before I can. "Are you Fester?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I took so long to answer. I was busy admiring the moon." Fester is very tall, dressed in violet, with a turban on his head. "Please, come in." he gestures, and the five of us crowd into the small house.

"We're here to ask you about the Moon That Never Sets"

"Oh! About the Moon That Never Sets! Wait here for a minute. Let me get some materials. You are interested in a weird matter Of course, I cannot make judgements about other people. Please take a look at this."

The five of us crowd around a small viewing screen and Fester turns it on, showing a picture of the moon.

"In astronomy, a moon that never sets cannot exist. Stars travel the sky by catching the wings of time. But this moon never moves, day or night. That's why it's called the Moon That Never Sets. After counting 108 years, the Moon That Never Sets glows red and the Moon Child comes down to bring peace and happiness to the world. However what we really get is destruction…that is, the Black Monster.

Dart jumps to his feet. "Did you say the Black Monster?" he asks through his teeth.

"Yes. But why a demon, not a blessing? The mystery has yet to be resolved."

I clench my sword. I know this legend by heart.

Albert lets out a breath that he has been holding. "I never imagined we would be able to get some information about the Black Monster here."

"Did you find this useful?" Fester asks politely.

"Yes! You think so too, right, Dart?" Shana pokes at him.

He nods, his face set. 

Fester sighs, and looks up as a bell sounds, echoing loudly throughout the city. "Oh it is getting late. I have to hurry or I will be making the Princess wait!" He grabs a black duffel bag that had been resting in the corner. "It's hard to eat only by astronomy. I'm acting as the governor to Princess Lisa as well. Oh, if you want to take a good look at the Moon That Never Sets, go upstairs and take a look through the telescope. Lock the door when you leave." The man runs off.

"Great, now what do we do? We don't know anything about where Lloyd is." Haschel complains, but in a good-natured way. He does not wail or lament; he is an optimist.

"I guess we'll have to rest at the inn tonight, and see what to do tomorrow." Dart says wearily. "Come on."

But the inn is full.

"I'm sorry, we have no vacancies tonight. We have had many travelers take refuge here against the thieves, so we have no empty rooms." The woman at the desk informs us.

"Are you sure? Not even one room? We're all friends; we can share." Dart says.

The woman shakes her head.

"We'll just sleep outside tonight. It's not the first time; come on." I say.

"Oh, Miss? You're not allowed to do that. No one is allowed to leave the town at night. It's for your own safety. There are bandits wandering around."

I gesture to my sword. "We can defend ourselves."

"I'm sorry, Miss. That's not allowed. King Zior's orders."

__

I'm really starting not to like that king...

"Rose, don't worry. We'll just ask if we can stay at someone's house." Dart says quickly. 

"I suggest Nello. He's got a big enough house, and he's very nice." The woman says. "I'm sorry we can't help you."

She is right. Nello's house is right by the Claire Bridge, and he welcomes us in. He says that we can stay the night if we want.

"Welcome. I am Nello, the representative of the Green Project, turning the brown barrens to green, the deserts to forest. Don't be so shy. You too wish to bring green back to the earth, don't you?"

"Yes, we do." Albert says honestly. "People have been forgetting about the planet lately. No one cares about plants anymore. Green is disappearing."

"Exactly!" Nello seems pleased to find someone who shares his thoughts. "That's why I've started this organization..."

"Really? What for?"

"It's to bring green back to the Barrens. I'm going to..."

"It looks like they're going to talk all night." I comment, my arms crossed. I have never been one for flowers, despite the fact that it is my namesake.

"Let's just go to sleep first." Shana yawns, curling up in a chair. "Good night."

"I'm tired too." Dart disappears into the adjoining room. "You're looking at the flowers, Shana?"

"Yeah. They're different from anything I've ever seen. I wonder how they bloom."

"That's right. You love flowers. I gave you a bouquet when you were eleven. You were so happy."

"You remember?" Shana smiles. She is beautiful, unnaturally beautiful, almost. It is no wonder Dart likes her.

"And I've been trying to plant greens throughout the Barren, or at least I'd like to do that, but I can't. Now now. There are so many bandits wandering around." Nello continues.

"That's horrible. Why are there so many bandits all of a sudden anyway? From what I heard before, Tiberoa was very peaceful."

As I predicted, King Albert and Nello really did talk all night. 

In the morning, Nello advises us to go to the flower city of Donau. He says they might know what is going on with the bandits. Personally, I think he is telling us to go just because there are plants there. But Albert persuades Dart to lead us there.

"You'll have to cross the Barrens on the way. Be careful. I hear that's where the Gehrich Gang, the bandits, like to attack travelers." Nello says. "Good luck."

"It seems there were no signs of Lloyd after all." 

"In the last moments of his life, my uncle was himself. We can trust the information he gave us. So we have to assume that we crossed paths with him."

"But then, where in the world?"

"Well," I comment. "At least the King is getting along well with a motley crew like us."

"I was concerned at first, too." Haschel says, not seriously. "I thought we were going to be pushed around by the King's ego!"

"Please, stop teasing me, both of you! From now on, I don't want you calling me 'Your Majesty' or 'Your Highness' or anything like that. That might get us in trouble."

Dart simply says, "Thank you."

Shana giggles. "Dart can't do courtesy. He gets cramps in his tongue when he tries to speak politely."

But Dart only smiles. "Like you can?"

"Hey!" Shana slaps his arms playfully. "I'm more polite than you are!" She swats at his hands.

Look at them. They can insult each other so affectionately, hit each other playfully. I wonder, was my relationship with _him_ ever so close? I could never be like that with Dart. I could only be like that with the him of years ago.

The Barrens really live up to their name. There is no green there, only sand and rock formations. Albert sighs when he sees it, but does not comment. It is just as well; if I have to hear anyone else try to persuade me to petition to help the Barrens, I will kill them. It is not that I do not like the earth or flowers or green. I just know when to back off.

The canyon formation is not confusing, just far. It is not long before they are complaining to rest. 

"Just a little further, okay, everyone? Just up underneath the rock-bridge over there. Then you can all rest in the shade, okay?" Dart suggests. "It's only a little further."

He falls into step with me. "How come you don't complain, Rose?"

"I'm not tired. What's different about that? You don't complain either."

"Well, yeah, but that's because...well...I'm a guy. Guys have more stamina than girls."

"That is not accurate." I tell him. "Believe me, Dart, I could go much farther than you." I quicken my pace. After the years and what I've been through, I am indifferent to all weariness, both physical and emotional. 

But when we reach the bridge-looking rock, I hear laughter. A shrill cackle like a boy with a pinched voicebox.

"Hee hee hee! Are you dating those girls in a place like this?" The tallest one, but still short, asks.

"You bring them to a place like this? You need a doctor!"

"What a quack! Ha ha!"

The voices comes from above. There is someone perched on the bridge. I cannot tell his age; he looks neither boy nor man. But he has two male friends with him, and he is undoubtedly a thief.

"Who are you?" Dart asks.

"Hey, Mappi, did you hear that?" one of the friends giggles. "That guy just asked you who you were!"

The tallest one jumps down, with his two friends. "Ta-da! We're the one and only Gehrich Gang! We're so bad we scare ghosts back to hell!"

Dart blinks and then speaks in unimpressed monotone. "They have no class. At all."

"What! What did you say? Just leave behind your valuables, that's the deal!"

Dart takes out his sword. "What deal? Get out of our way."

"This is your last warning." I say carefully, pulling out my sword in a scratch of metal against metal. "Or you will need a real doctor."

The thieves do not like that. They rush us.

Shana and Albert take care of the two friends, while Haschel, Dart and I focus on Mappi.

Thieves have never been too skilled. In all my years, I have never met a thief that was even halfway to a formidable opponent. And Mappi is even worse than the others. His buddies go down quickly.

Dart rushes forward, cornering Mappi against the stone cliff.

Mappi cowers, falling on his knees. "Wait, don't! Don't kill me! I swear, I won't do it again! I swear!"

__

Don't listen to him. He's a lying coward. Kill him. 

But the red-clad warrior has a weak heart. He lowers his sword, and turns back to us.

And at that moment, Mappi strikes.

Lunging forward, he pushes himself off the ground. Dart's mistake was turning around, and allowing Mappi to swipe at the red jewel hanging around Dart's throat, the Dragoon Spirit of the Fire Dragon.

The gem falls several meters away from them.

NO! 

Both Dart and Mappi dive for the necklace.

Although thieves are not strong, they are quick. Mappi's speed is unrivaled. He reaches the prize first, clutching it in one fist, crowing his victory. 

__

The Dragoon Spirit!

Drawing my sword, I run toward Mappi, keeping my steps quick but silent.

Mappi notices me at the last second, dodging the slash I aimed at his head. Quick as light, he makes a smug face at us, and scrambles up the rock cliff, disappearing.

"He's gone!" Shana exclaims. "He stole the pendant!"

"That was my necklace!" Dart yells furiously. "Now I can't transform. And it was my dad's gift to me." 

"That was the Dragoon Spirit of Fire! It does not belong in the hands of a common thief! We have to get it back, _now_." _How dare they let the Dragoon Spirit be taken so easily? Something of such power, such honor, and it is gone so quickly! That thief will die!_

Haschel clears his throat. "There's nothing we can do about it now. Let's just get to Donau, quickly."

The road ahead splits into two. Shana runs ahead and reads the sign. "The 'Home of Gigantos' is to the left, and 'Donau' is to the right." She tells us. "We go right?"

"Yeah." Dart does not reply, so it is Albert that speaks. Perhaps I have been a little too harsh on the warrior, but he must know the full impact of the situation.

Donau is a very quiet, very peaceful town with tiny homes, and flooding with colorful flowers of every hue possible. Haschel begins sneezing immediately, explaining that he is allergic to pollen. Walking on the path with his eyes squeezed shut to hold back the tears, he crashes into a man clad in armor.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The man says, helping him up. "I'm a Knight of Mille Seseau. I'm looking for the man who saved the life of our Sister Wink."

Blink.

"I assume it is not you. Please excuse me." The knight bows.

There is a young woman standing at the entrance to the clinic, one hand leaning against the wall, breathing slightly fast whether in fear or giddiness or both. I am guessing that that is Sister Wink.

Ignoring the knights for now, we wander through the city. "I've been here before." Shana tells us. "I have a friend here. Can we go see her? It will take just a moment."

She ducks into a small home to our right. "Kate!"

A brown-haired young woman appears. "Shana? Is that you?"

"Yeah. How's everything going? ...Are you crying? What's wrong? Where's Lynn? Weren't you two supposed to get married?"

Something clicks in my mind, and I look away.

Instead of replying, Kate sits down on the couch and thrusts a letter at Shana, who takes it and reads it aloud: "'Dearest Kate, don't worry about me. I've gone to confront the Gehrich Gang. I've learned that they are in the Home of Gigantos, and I'm going to stop them. Please don't worry about me. We still have the wedding to plan.' Kate? Lynn wrote this? He's gone to face the thieves?!"

Kate nods, sobbing.

A commoner went to stop a whole swarm of bandits by himself. Smart… 

"Oh, Kate, that's horrible. I'm so sorry." Shana says, putting her arms around her friend. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Yes. Please. Go to the mayor here. Show him the letter. Ask him to help, please." Kate says, looking away. "Lynn is the mayor's son. I'm staying here until my fiance returns."

"All right, Kate, don't worry. We'll give the letter to the mayor. We were going to go stop the gang anyway." 

Kate gives us all a confused glance.

"They took something of mine that was important." Dart explains, speaking up. "We'll rescue your fiancé. We'll go talk to the mayor."

"You just wait here, okay, Kate?" Shana hugs her friend, and rises.

"I'll always wait, until Lynn returns." Kate vows.

__

I used to be like that too. I promised that I would wait. But then... I shake my head to clear my thoughts, and follow the others outside.

The mayor's house is nowhere near as elaborate as the Twin Castle in Fletz, but it is large compared to all the other houses in Donau. An elegant staircase leads up to the front door, and two gardens surround it. On a walkway in front of it, a woman is selling items.

Dart and Shana show the letter to the mayor, who is surprised.

"What kind of man would venture to face the Gehrich Gang all by himself?" I cannot tell if he is nervous or angry or both. "Please. Will you go help him?"

Dart nods. "We were headed there anyway."

"Thank you so much. If you don't know the way, you should return to the Barrens. Where the road splits, take the left path. Oh wait...I forgot. To get to the Home of Gigantos, you must cross the Valley of Corrupted Gravity."

__

I hate that place.

"And to pass through there, you need to get the King of Fletz's permission. He had his guards seal the Valley. You need his pass to get in."

"We'll do that." Dart promises.

The mayor bows. "Thank you so much."

We haven't even saved him yet. 

As we leave the house, we pause on the steps. 

There is a girl standing down there, young, only around fifteen. She has a petite frame and an enormous hammer strung onto her back. She has a cheerful face, but her eyes are narrowed at the three thieves in front of her.

"Hey, why did you touch my butt?" She demands to the thief.

"What? I wouldn't waste my time touching you!" he answers. "You're just a kid!"

"A kid! I'm the most popular dancer in this town!" She takes the hammer off her back and holds it ready. She has used the weapon before; she is no amateur. "I could forgive you if you'd admit I'm too sexy to ignore, and apologize!"

"Huh? Is this kid dreaming or what?" 

"I can't stand it anymore!" The girl swings the hammer, once...twice... three times, and the thieves fall to the ground.

"Ow! Let's get out of here. You're not worth our time." The thieves run off. "You'll pay for this!"

"Hah! I wouldn't pay you anything!" The girl sticks out her tongue.

"You are so full of it." I mutter quietly, but it seems she hears me. She turns around and notices us, her eyes glaring again.

"Who are you?" She demands. "Are you part of the Gehrich Gang? Do you want me to smash you too?"

"Whoa, wait!" Dart holds up his hands. "We're not thieves."

Haschel whispers, "Platinum hair, just like Lloyd...The rest is different." I am not sure if it is an insult or a compliment.

He is right. Although the girl in front of us does have the same brownish eyes and platinum hair—hers is tinged slightly bluish—she is not at all like Lloyd. The swordsman was tall, and she is petite. Lloyd had an air of predatory danger around him, while this girl looks too delicate and full of herself. She is scantily dressed like a dancer, clad just enough, and has an enormous sky-blue bow tied around her waist for decoration. A necklace of a strange design clings to her throat. The way she dresses is almost as if to attract those thieves.

"We're not thieves." Dart declares. 

"Come on. We don't have time to waste on this kid." I say.

"That's right. We have to rescue Lynn."

The girl puts away her hammer. "Lynn? You guys are going to save him? That's great! So was I! All the people here in Donau are too chicken to do anything about the bandits, so I was just about to go to the Home of Gigantos and stop them myself! My name is Meru, and I'm going with you!"

Dart shakes his head. "No thanks. We can take care of it."

"No way! I'm coming with you no matter what!" The girl stamps her foot.

Shana brings Dart to the side and murmurs something to him. He shakes his head at first, but finally nods. "All right, Meru, you can come with us."

"All right!" She jumps up. "Beautiful dancer Meru and friends are heading to the Home of Gigantos to stop the Gehrich Gang! Let's go!"

I turn to Dart, eyebrows raised. "You're sure about this? She's just a child."

"I know, but..." he shrugs. "Anyway, let's go."

Meru is talkative.

She speaks nonstop all along the way back to Fletz, inquiring all of us about our hobbies and our weapons and our past, and everything. I ignore her, but she does not shut up. For the first time in a long time, I begin to feel the beginnings of a headache, and I must walk faster to avoid speaking with her.

"She is rather chatty, isn't she?" Albert comments, walking next to me after Meru started speaking about how cool it must be to be the King of Serdio.

"Chatty?" I echo. "I'm halfway to killing her!"

"Rose, you're halfway to killing everyone." Albert chides, but with a smile to show that he means no offense.

I am relieved to see Fletz. Meru is too busy marveling at the streams and the Moon and the houses and basically everything to question me about my past. 

The guard is still blocking the path, with the same reason, saying we cannot get in, even if we are going to the Valley of Corrupted Gravity.

"Hey! Why won't you let us in!" Meru demands. "Hey, Allie, you're a king, aren't you? Why can't you just tell him to move!"

"Shh! Meru, no one's supposed to know that!"

Meru shrugs. "Oops."

__

Yeah, oops. Like I'll oops when I accidentally run my sword through you.

"Well, I'll get him out of the way!" Meru backs up and runs into the guard. Real smart.

And springs back. She simply ricocheted off of the guard and landed on her backside in the market streets. "Ouch! Hey!"

"Not my fault." The guard shrugs. "You ran into me."

"That's not fair!"

"Come on, Meru." Shana practically drags the young dancer away. 

We sit in the bar again. Dart, Shana and Haschel are trying to ask Kaffie about how to get to the King, but the dark-skinned waitress is speaking, and I know how long that can take, so I simply sit down at the bar and order another glass.

Albert does the same, only it is non-alcoholic, of course.

Meru sits down next to me. I groan mentally.

"You drink?" She makes a face. "Yuck."

I remain silent. 

"I hate drinking. I took one gulp once, and I threw up." Meru makes a gagging sound. 

Mentally, I set up a mind shield to block out her voice. In any other's opinion, she is a rather nice and pretty girl, kind, I suppose, but she talks too much. In my opinion, she is annoying and I don't want her to speak to me.

"Rose? Rose? Rose! Are you even listening to me?"

"No." I reply, sliding off the seat and walk around the restaurant, trying to escape her. It takes all my will not to yell and run out of Fletz itself. _Dear Soa, go away!_

Dart must see the annoyed look on my face, because he comes over. "Okay, Kaffie says that because Fester is the governor of Princess Lisa, he should be able to get us in. But we better hurry, because he usually leaves at night, and it's almost night."

We do so, catching Fester just as he leaves his house after the bell gongs. He agrees to help us to get in. The large guard questions him, but being a governor gives him certain privileges.

After entering, Fester explains. "To the left is the Moon Tower, where Princess Emille's room is. And that's the dining hall. To the right is the Star Tower, where Princess Lisa's room is. And that's the guest room. To the front are the training center and the storage rooms. And up those stairs is the Chamber of the Sun, where King Zior is. Come with me, and I can get you a private audience with the King.

"King Zior, I'm sorry I'm late." Fester bows.

"Don't worry about that, Fester. Lisa has been asking for you. She is curious about a new star. And either my eyes are fooling me, or I am seeing several Festers..." Zior is a friendly large man, but not too bright, probably getting senile.

"Your eyes are not wrong, King Zior. This is Dart and his friends."

It takes an entire two hours to explain everything to the King, and at the end, he speaks. "All right. If you understand all the risks, then fine. I grant my permission. Servant! Bring them the Pass!"

A skittery-looking boy brings in a small golden pass, and upon it are inscribed the words: The Pass to the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. How subtle.

We bow to Zior, and begin to leave.

When we are at the front door, a timid female voice stops us. "Excuse me? King Albert?"

Albert turns around to see a quiet-looking girl, probably a handmaiden.

"I am Libria, the Lady's maid for Princess Lisa. Princess Lisa had me call you and your company. Please follow me." She moves up the stairs to the Star Tower.

Albert and Dart exchange glances and follow. 

Princess Lisa looks a lot like her sister, but her voice and attitude matches her appearance, unlike Emille. She is dressed in yellow and orange.

"Hello. I'm Princess Lisa. I'm sorry to disturb you all, but I've learned several key pieces of information from reading the stars. I think you would like to hear them, and I need your help." She pauses, and begins to tell.

"It happened six months ago. That was when sister Emille changed. We were horseback riding, when Emille's horse suddenly became frightened and ran off into the forest. When the servants found her, she was lying unconscious on the forest floor. She was in a coma for a week before she woke up.

"But when she regained consciousness, she was completely different. It was like she was a totally different person. But Father and the Council were so glad to have her safe that they didn't notice. But these past six months, Emille has been very different. I'm worried for her.

"In a few weeks, it will be Emille's twentieth birthday. She is the heir, and at twenty years of age, the heir will rise to the throne. We have a sacred treasure here." Lisa sighs. "King Albert, you are the leader of Serdio. You are the guardian of the Moon Gem. Just as here, in Tiberoa, we have the Moon Dagger. It will be passed to the heir on her twentieth birthday.

"But I am worried. I am afraid something is wrong with Emille, and that may affect her rulership. Furthermore, I have learned from the stars to 'never give up the moon'. I believe that they are speaking about the Moon Dagger. And I am sure that it has something to do with the bandits. Because also exactly six months ago, they began appearing. Just after Emille's accident. Please help us."

Dart nods. "We will do everything we can."

Lisa bows. "Thank you. Please stay for dinner. You will see Emille."

"We've met her already." Shana says, making a face. "At the marketplace. She's…unpleasant."

"I'm sorry for that. Again, I want to know what's making her act this way. Come. Dinner awaits us." 

Emille eats like a slob.

Her right hand slices the steak cleanly, and her left hand picks up the piece with a fork and she shoves it into her mouth. It takes her all of half a second to do this, and she repeats it again and again.

"I'm going to be sick." Meru mutters to Haschel. Those two have gotten along very well, although one is sixteen and the other is nearing sixty. 

"She's so rude." The Rouge master mutters back.

"Ha! Look at her!" Zior laughs. "It seems that whenever girls turn 20 they develop quite an appetite. Fester, why don't you introduce everyone?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Oh, Fester, I didn't know you were there." Emille gestures with her fork, speaking around her food. "Are you still into all that weird stuff? The moon and stars?"

"Yes...Anyway, this is..."

Emille interrupts. "Hey wait, I know you people. I saw you at the marketplace. The two cute guys." 

Fester nods, relieved. "I am glad you have met them. Those two are Dart and Albert. And that is..."

"I didn't ask about anyone else." Emille snaps. 

"Ha. Please forgive her. Emille is a bit shy." King Zior says.

"I am not shy! I just don't like them. Hey, you! Bring more food!" 

Shana glances sidelong at me. And for once I agree with her, returning the glance with raised eyebrows. 

Lisa squirms a bit in her seat. "Please, eat more. I assume you are leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

"Where are you going?" Emille asks, not looking up. "Are you still going to the Valley of Corrupted Gravity?"

"Yep." I take great pleasure in telling her this.

Emille gasps, her knife falling out of her hand and onto the floor. But quickly, she bends down, picks up the knife, and begins slicing again, regardless of the fact that the knife had been on the floor where the servants had been walking. "Huh! Stupid guys!" She mutters. 

I poke at my food a couple of times but do not eat.

Dinner is quick, because the small talk is bypassed, and not many people eat, so the maid Libria leads us to the guest room. The first room has three beds, and the adjoining room the same. 

"I'm still hungry!" Meru complains. "Princess Emille took my share!"

"She took my share too." Haschel nods. He usually welcomes everyone with open arms and heart, but this time he seems to dislike Emille, with ample reason.

"Agh. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. Good night, everyone." Albert walks to the bed farthest from the door and lies down with his forearm over his eyes.

"I'm tired. Good night." Shana takes the closest bed, and immediately falls asleep, breathing lightly.

Meru sits on the third bed, but does not lie down. When Haschel asks her if she's tired, she answers, "Of course. But I can't fall asleep until Dart does, right? Because then I wouldn't be safe."

__

She is so full of herself.

"Huh?" Dart seems confused, but Meru just winks.

Dart sits down on the first bed. "We'll need to get rest tonight. Tomorrow we go after the Gehrich Gang. I need to get my Dragoon Spirit back. It's too important to fall into the hands of the thieves."

I face the wall. "Then maybe you shouldn't have lost it in the first place."

Haschel turns to me, and shakes his head, good-naturedly. "That's our Rose. Always so harsh. Why don't you smile?"

"I don't remember how to smile..." I pause, and start for the next room. "We'll meet in the morning."

The guards let us in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity instantly when they see the pass.

When the morning sunlight appeared, we left the Twin Castle and started for the Valley. It took all morning and several rests, but we made it to the shadowy valley, and the gates opened.

The valley is made of floating stone paths, and there are several boulders hovering around. It seems like something from a space movie.

Meru is the first to run in on the stone paths, kicking a large boulder off the cliffs. It falls all the way down the abyss without a sound. I cannot see the bottom of the canyon.

She turns back to us, hands on her hips. "Aw, no fun. Isn't the gravity here supposed to be weird?"

"Meru, look out!"

Meru ducks just as the boulder comes flying back up, nearly taking off her head. "Ack!" 

I pick up a stone and toss it off. It floats in a straight line until it collides with another rock, and takes another trajectory.

"This place was where one of the major battles in the Dragon Campaign took place. The land here was affected by Wingly magic, and the gravity became corrupted. Even after 11,000 years, this place is still dangerous." I turn to Meru. "I don't think you'll have much 'fun' from here." 

She holds her hands up hastily, palms outward. "I didn't actually mean it... So which way do we go?"

"It doesn't matter." Dart says. "I've been observing the pattern of the rocks. They all lead to the same place, all the way up there. We'll just have to keep climbing. These rocks can support our weight. We better hurry up. This place gives me the creeps." 

Dart was right. The rocks did support the weight of us, although we had to go one at a time.

"Rose? Come on, hurry up!" Dart calls.

I turn away from staring into the distance. "There's...something there, by the exit. Something strong but unhealthy."

Dart squints in the direction I am pointing at. "I can't see that far. But we'll get up to it. Come on. Give me your hand."

I leap over the canyon without the aid of the outstretched hand or the floating rock. The thing by the exit seems oddly familiar...

"Look out!" Shana screams. 

"Whoa!" Dart's foot slips on the floating rock and he tumbles down to the vast endless canyon.

I dive over the edge, hooking my feet against the lip of the cliff, and thrusting my arms down, catching hold of Dart's right hand. The tension on my feet heighten and becomes almost unbearable, and my muscles scream for rest.

"Don't struggle." I tell the warrior in a tight voice.

"Rose!" he seems surprised that I am helping him. "What are you doing...?"

"Rose! Oh Soa!" The others all rush over.

"Get ready to pull us up. I can't do this alone." I order, my voice strained. "And Dart, don't move." I lower my voice. "Unless you want to die."

The gloves, both his leather and my dark violet, are beginning to slip. I tighten my grip, digging my nails in, and hold tight. All the blood is rushing to my head, and my breath is coming fast. 

"Shana, get ready. Pull us up. Now."

Hands latch on my ankles, and I slam my head against the cliff as the others pull us up. I do not release Dart until he is safely on the platform. He has several bruises and scrapes.

"Rose! Are you okay?" He asks, struggling to his feet. 

"I am fine." I get onto my feet, dusting myself off, my breathing returning to normal. "Are you?"

"I'm okay. Soa Almighty, Rose, that was dangerous!" 

"I know. Let's hurry on." I sprint ahead.

"Rose, wait. You're bleeding." Dart grabs hold of my hand and pulls me to a stop. "Rose!" His hand is gentle as he fingers an inch-long gash on the right side of my forehead. 

"It will heal." I answer curtly, pulling away. Shana does not look worried. She trusts me now. And I trust myself. The only reason I was attracted to Dart was because he resembled my lost love so much that it was impossible. But now that I understand it is not him, all my heart goes back the many years to reminisce about him again.

And yet, I still travel with these people...why? Because they are Dragoons? Because it is my responsibility to teach them, to make sure they will not die or abuse their powers? After all, I had joined them for that reason, because I had not wanted any more Dragoons to die…

The others are murmuring about me as I go ahead, but I do not wait for them. After a few seconds, they catch up, silently. Even Meru does not speak. 

I leap over rocks without actually seeing them. I am thinking.

He did the exact same thing for me. We were in the exact same valley. It had not been so gravity-corrupted then, but the ground had been so far away. I used to be afraid of heights. My foot slipped. And he caught me, grabbed my hands. I begged him not to let go. He said he never would. I miss those days, those days that were pure and sweet and openly honest.

"What is that, Rose?" Dart's voice interrupts my thinking.

I look up from the ground, jolted out of my thoughts. I had walked up to the exit without even knowing. I look at what they are all gawking at.

"Ew..." Meru says. "What is it?

"That might be the real reason that this valley has corrupted gravity. That's a Virage. But it has a full body. It is much more powerful than the one we fought in the Volcano Villude." I explain.

"The voice is coming again..." Shana whispers loudly, hoarsely. She reaches out a hand as if to touch the Virage across the distance.

"We have to get past it somehow." Dart says.

Instantly Shana is afraid. "No! Don't do that!"

"But Shana, it's blocking the exit."

"No. Please, Dart, don't go over there. I feel that it's bad. Please, Dart, it's dangerous there!" She is practically weeping. Whatever she feels, she feels it strongly.

There is a rumbling sound, and a tremor so that even the floating rocks drop.

The Virage groans, and stands up.

"It's awake!" Dart yells. "Did it sense our presence?"

Most likely Shana's. What connection does she have to it? 

"Watch out for its ultimate attack." I warn them. "Dragoon form will help with this battle."

Dragoons morph, while Meru looks on in awe. "Cool!"

__

Not quite the word I would use to describe it. "Astral Drain!"

"Wind Blaster!"

"Atomic Mind!"

"Moon Light!"

Shana seems dazed, almost as if she suffers from a headache and euphoria both at the same time. Is that even possible?

The Virage did not die by any easy means. It took an entire four hours to beat it into submission, and we used up all our items and healing potions. Haschel and Albert were knocked out of the battle, and Shana sat down when her headache grew worse.

The Virage screamed, like a dying hawk, and stretched out one clawed hand at Shana, who had moved dangerously close to the edge. 

"Shana!" Dart yells, and I with him, we run forward-

--and skid to a stop.

Shana is defending herself.

Not by her bow and arrow. Her weapons lay at her feet, her hands are clasped together. A bluish aura surrounds her entire body, illuminating her in different power. The power emanates from her like heat from a fire, starting nowhere but itself.

It seems stronger than guiding Dragoon Magic, but Shana seems entirely at peace. The blue fire from around her lashes forward, slamming into the Virage and knocking it off the ledge.

It falls down to the bottom of the valley, hitting its head several times.

"It's going to have one hell of a headache when it wakes up." Meru comments.

"If it ever does." Haschel adds.

But I do not hear them. I am busy staring. It is impossible for a human to have such magic. Even a Dragoon in morph does not have magic like that! It is impossible!

"Shana! What on earth..." I falter for once. "What are you to Virage?" 

Why did the Virage reach for her in particular? Why did it stop? Why did she have the power to knock it off the ledge? HOW could she have had that power? I have never seen that sort of power! Who...what IS this girl? 

"I don't know!" She sobs, her hands covering her face. "I don't know anything!"

Dart comes over and puts his arms around her. "Don't worry about it. The Virage is gone now. Come on, everyone, let's get out of here. We all need some rest."

The Home of Gigantos is beautiful in that ancient way. 

If there hadn't been any thieves.

The pillars are crumbling, the walls are eroded. A giant clock, broken, blocks the way to the far side, to a giant temple. The entire place is covered in dust and dirt, creating sort of a ghostly vision.

The thieves notice us as soon as we get in. No surprise. All six of us, it is impossible not to. We battle our way in.

Like before, bandits do not put up much of a fight.

We make it to the clock before he stops us.

He didn't look like much. Tall, wearing baggy red pants that were narrowed at the ankles. Brown shoes. Dark hair pulled back. But he had a strange fighting stance, something almost worldly and knowing. No way this could be a simple bandit.

It is Haschel that knows. "You!" he says, jabbing a finger. "Where did you learn the Rouge Art?"

"Who cares? You stumbled onto our hideout, and now you'll have to pay!"

Haschel ends this fight as quickly as it began. The rest of us just watched. The tall stranger leapt in a flying side kick. Haschel ducked and slammed his fist into the tall one as he soared over him. As the stranger landed, Haschel punched his face and stepped a foot on him.

"The Rouge Art is a tradition found only in my village. Everyone from outside who learns the Rouge Art must have a connection. Where did you learn it?" He asks again, quietly but with menace. "Do you know a woman fighter named Claire?"

"Claire? No, I've never heard of her. I learned this from the boss here, Gehrich." The bandit swallows, and Haschel moves his foot, allowing the tall man to stand up.

"Gehrich..." 

"Yeah. He used to study it seriously about twenty years ago, but then he got kicked out." The bandit says.

"Gehrich…kicked out… Oh, now I remember him. He was once my disciple." 

"You'll never defeat my boss. He's ten times better than me!"

__

That's not saying much.

"It is my fist who decides if I can defeat him or not." Haschel says with such quiet dignity that the bandit turns and runs off. The martial arts master then turns and faces the giant clock that blocks our way. "Everyone get out of the way."

"Wait, wait, Haschel!" Dart yells. "You can't do that! That thing is three times the size of you!"

"Watch me."

The Rouge martial arts master moved his right leg back, knees bent to support him better. Hands clenched, his right fist moves back and then forward-

--And the clock explodes into stone shards that sting against me.

"Holy--!"Albert strangles off a curse. 

"Wow!" Meru shrieks. "I didn't know you could do that!"

The ruins up ahead lead to the temple, up three flights of staircases. It is less impressive up close, but I like things that I can face directly. To the left, stairs lead down to a platform with several boulders, to the right is a cave, and to the front is the temple.

"Let's check the cave first." Dart suggests. "He's probably in the temple, but it's better to be safe. Everyone stay together."

"Whew..." Haschel breathes hard, sitting down on a flat rock. "My back hurts."

"I told you that you shouldn't have done that." Dart scolds him. "All right, you stay here."

"I'll stay with him." Meru volunteers. "Hmph. Men! You should have thought about your age!"

We leave the two of them bickering as we advance into the cave.

It is a short walk, only half a mile or so. But it is an empty cave, filled only with the healing rock fireflies.

"Nothing but rock fireflies in there, Haschel." Dart reports as we come out of the short narrow cave.

Meru lies sprawled on the flat rock, facedown. Haschel is nowhere in sight.

"Meru!" Dart runs to her, and checks her pulse.

As he does so, she immediately awakens. "What? What happened?"

"We could ask you the same thing." Albert says. "Where's Haschel?"

"I don't know. I was talking, and then something came from behind and hit me." Meru reports, dusting herself off, picking pebbles out of her platinum-bluish hair.

"Haschel must have gone ahead." Dart draws this conclusion. "He must be facing Gehrich."

We climb the stairs to the temple, and enter the doorway.

Inside there is a gaudy bronze throne. The room is lit with only candles, and the ceiling is supported by three dusty pillars. A fallen and defeated Mappi is against the wall, the Dragoon Spirit next to him. A tall dark-haired man is exchanging physical blows with Haschel.

"Haschel!" Dart yells. 

The martial arts master hardly looks at us. He continues fighting with Gehrich.

Dart moves to help, but I wave a hand at him.

"Let him." I say. "Sometimes it is best to confront your past alone."

__

I would know that best out of all of us...

Master will always be better than disciple. That is how everything works. It is the master that teaches the disciple, and the master has had more knowledge and experience. 

Just as now. Gehrich is knocked back into one of the pillars, with a heavy groan.

As if echoing him, the pillar sways and groans. Several chunks of the ceiling begin to fall. 

Gehrich looks up at the fallig pillar. "Please run! Master!"

"It's gonna cave in!" Dart realizes. "Haschel! Come on!"

But as they turn to leave, a particularly large boulder blocks the doorway. Meru slams it with her hammer, but the rock hardly splinters.

The pillar is falling in huge pieces now. 

"It's too late!" Albert yells, ducking, and covering his head. 

__

It's never too late until it actually happens! I snarl in my head. _I will not die so insignificantly. I cannot die yet!_ I drop into a crouch, and then onto my back. Maybe I can stop it with my legs, support it somehow until they find a way to hold it up.

But the ceiling jolts once, stopping. Only little rocks fall, one of them striking my forehead where I was smashed when Shana and I pulled Dart up, but I hardly blink.

A Giganto is there, holding up the pillar and ceiling. He has slowed its momentum so that it merely crumbles. He is straining, obviously working hard.

"Kongol?!" 

The Giganto tosses the pillar to the side. 

Haschel is kneeling by Gehrich, who is still unconscious.

"Is he going to make it?" Shana asks quietly.

The dark-haired man shakes his head. "But if that Giganto over there hadn't caught the pillar, then he would be dead by now. As would all of us."

"Yeah, Kongol, why are you here?" 

"It is a strange way to get revenge." I say. "What's going on in your mind?"

"Ugh!" Haschel is kneeling by the awakened Gehrich. 

The disciple says something to his master, several words that make Haschel nod, and then the body goes limp. I can see even at this distance. 

Everyone is watching him now. The Rouge master gets to his feet, holding the body. There are tears in his old eyes. "Martial arts is connected with the heart. When you hit someone, your fist aches, and your heart aches..." he sighs and shakes his head. "I will dispose of the body with the proper rituals. Please wait for me."

As we wait, Dart questions Kongol. The Giganto is not lying. He said that he had only followed Doel all his life, that Doel had saved him as a child. But Doel had promised him a land where everyone would be equal, no matter what race.

There will never be such a land. It is impossible. There can never be a land like you wish. All we have is killing and being killed. 

But because Doel had died, Kongol wants to follow us. To see what we fight for.

"Equal world need strong leader." Kongol says, gesturing to Dart. "Kongol follow you. Kongol want to see if Dart is strong leader."

"Wait!" The warrior holds up his hands. "I'm no leader!" 

"That's where you're wrong, Dart." Shana says.

"Yeah, she's right. There's something about you, Dart, that makes me want to follow you." Meru shrugs. "I don't know what it is."

I agree. 

"...Okay." Dart concedes. Our little party now numbers seven. He faces Kongol. "We're friends."

"Friends." Kongol repeats. "It good word." He clamps a brotherly hand on Dart's shoulder, but because of the Giganto's great strength, the warrior drops to one knee, wincing.

When Haschel comes back, he has Lynn with him, and the Red Dragoon Spirit pendant. The tears are gone.

"Gehrich said that the Princess Emille in Fletz is a fake, a bandit-woman named Lenus. That's why there's been so many bandits lately." He states simply. "We have to go back before they pass the Moon Dagger to the wrong person. Kongol is coming with us?"

"Yes."

Everyone in the party looks normal, but each one carries within him or her something that drives them forward, keeping us together. A girl that can awaken Virages and is being hunted by Emperor Diaz, a King of Serdio who is avenging his friend and searching for the Moon Gem, a martial arts master searching for his runaway daughter, a talkative dancer with a hidden means, a Giganto who dreams of a perfect world with equal people, and a red-clad warrior that is impossibly similar to my long lost love.

And of course, this mysterious woman that holds a deadly secret.

What a crew.

Fletz is in celebration.

It does not matter that they do not like Princess Emille. These people will celebrate the sun coming into the sky if nothing else. Fireworks are being readied, and I know that inside the palace, the "Princess Emille" is about to receive the Moon Dagger at the Coming of Age Ceremony.

We had dropped Lynn off at Donau, where he and Kate were to be married. Shana wanted to stay for the wedding, but we were on a tight schedule, so she simply wished her friend good luck.

And Meru decided to come with us. 

"I used to believe that things like Virages and Dragoons and Gigantos were only in fairy tales. So I want to come along to see how far they go. And don't even argue, because I'm coming with you no matter what." She had said, and Dart did not argue.

The large guard in front of the castle is now gone. A new one replaces him, and he does not look friendly. 

"Bandit." I tell the others. "Lenus must have switched them."

"Should we break through or retreat?" Albert asks.

Dart shrugs. "Haschel, what do you think?"

The dark-haired master narrows his eyes. "We're getting to the Ceremony no matter what. We are stopping Lenus. Or Gehrich's death will be useless. We won't allow that to happen, right, Rose?"

I understand what he means. He may not be the leader of the group, but I feel a certain respect for him, and I obey.

Moving fluidly around a vendor cart, I leap impossibly high into the air to land behind the guard. Quickly, before he can turn around, I jab my hand into the fragile vein in his neck. He slumps down to the ground without a whimper.

I walk back to the others. Shana has her hands over her eyes. "Is it over?" She whispers.

"I didn't kill him." I tell her. "Just knocked him unconscious."

"Thank you." Shana says, relieved. 

__

She is too weak. Something will go wrong. If not now then later.

There is no one to stop us from entering the palace, but inside is swarming with guards dressed as knights. 

"We need to find Princess Lisa first and tell her what happened. Then she might know what to do." Albert says, pointing to the Star Tower.

We needed to avoid all the guards, so we separate. I ignore the stairs, transforming to Dragoon and flying up silently. No guards see me. They never do.

The rest of them arrive within minutes, and we enter Princess Lisa's room.

"I have been expecting you. I am ready. Tell me what happened." She orders. All royalty are like that. No matter how nice, they are still royalty, and used to being obeyed.

"Princess Emille is actually a woman named Lenus. She's working with the other bandits, and that is why there have been so many thieves lately. Lenus has taken on the form of your sister."

"Oh thank God." Lisa breathes. "It is impossible for my sister Emille to have such an attitude. I must go with you. The only way Father will believe us is if we find the real Emille. I will go with you to find her."

With Lisa with us, we did not need to worry about the guards. They simply glanced, backed off, and stayed away. We made it to the Moon Tower without any trouble. 

The room is empty.

"It's horrible!" Lisa gasps. "This place has been ransacked!"

"We did say it was bandits." Meru says meekly. "Where's Kongol?"

"He was too big to fit in the room." Shana answers.

"Aw, I feel bad...I'm going outside to wait with him." Meru leaves.

"Me too. There are too many people in this room." Haschel disappears.

We search around the room for anything that may seem magical, that could hide the real princess. 

"Rose? Come and look at this." Dart is gazing at a portrait of Emille. "Is it magical?"

I reach out a hand and feel the magic-energy buzzing from it. "Yeah."

And with a yell, we are all inside the painting.

"What is this place?" Shana asks. 

It seems like an outer space with color. There are stars and constellations with splashes of orange and red and violet. We are standing on one platform, and twenty meters away is another platform with a chair on which Princess Emille is sleeping.

"It seems a magical space was created in the painting." I inform the others. "It seems peculiar. It is in a different plane, perhaps even a different dimension." I wonder who had the magic to create it, and to store the real Princess Emille here. No human could possibly manage it.

"We can't jump over that." Dart says. "How are we going to get to her?"

"I can transform and fly over there." Shana offers, placing her hands on her pendant. The white light shines, but she does not transform.

"It is hard for beginners to transform at will." I say, but when Dart throws me a nasty look, I amend myself. "It is hard for even I to transform without a battle."

In the end, it turns out that Dart found a switch that created a magical bridge. Albert crossed and woke Emille, saying that if she did not wake up, an irreversible error would be made to Fletz and all of Tiberoa.

Emille awakened at that, breathing shallow, as if confused. I had not crossed the magical bridge, but even at this distance, I can tell. Lenus could never have compared with Emille. This girl moves with a grace that is incomparable, as if she is floating on the air. Her voice is soft and beautifully modulated. 

We left the painting by the way we came in, scaring Meru and Kongol and Haschel who had thought we had disappeared.

We reached the Chamber of the Sun a second too late. 

Lenus in Emille's form accepted the Moon Dagger just as the real Emille screamed stop. Zior fainted at the sight of two of his same daughters, and the fake leaped onto the balcony, shedding her disguise.

"Surprised, huh? This is the true form of Miss Lenus!" She laughs.

She is a Wingly. Dressed in revealing black skintight battle armor, with the platinum hair of a Wingly underneath a fashionable cap the exact color of flame, and she has the wings that look like shafts of moonlight through clouds. She is tall and slim, with long legs and the hunting light of an Amazon in her wood-colored eyes.

"Give up. You are cornered." 

"A girl in love doesn't know the meaning of the words 'give up'." She says, waving her hands in dismissal. "I have gotten this far for my love. I won't give up so easily!"

__

The only one she will ever love in her entire lifetime, whether it be mortal years or an entire 11,000.

"I'm sorry but you will not have to be in love anymore. Because you will die here."

Lenus hovers slightly in the air, legs stretched like a well-fed cat. She does not attack physically, but with several devastating magical spells. 

"Magic Shield!" Haschel tosses an item in the air, where it explodes into sparks that cover the entire team.

"What was that?" Shana asks.

"A magic shield to block her attacks for three turns. I found it in the Home of Gigantos." He explains. "Attack her now while you have the chance."

Kongol goes first, attacking with a huge axe the size of his torso. He has the strongest physical attack out of all of us.

I have noticed several changes during the journey. The enemies are growing much stronger. I am often surprised during battles now, instead of practically sleeping through them. And the allies...they have grown much stronger as well. Especially Dart. He handles his Dragoon with a natural born ease, with the grace that even my years as a Dragoon cannot imitate. Truly it is as if he is my love.

But that is impossible.

Even Shana. Her aim is better now, firing deadly arrows. Her Dragoon is more of a healing element than attack, and she is like the medic of the group. But she understands the importance of battles, and knows when to enter and when to step aside. 

The mystery between her and the Virage I still cannot decrypt.

Even though her magic attacks were powerful enough to make me weak, Lenus did not have good physical defense. She gives up easily.

"Give up. There is no point in this meaningless battle." Albert says. "you are surrounded."

"Really?" Lenus laughs. "You over there! What do you think of that?"

Meru keeps silent, frowning.

"Whatever!" Lenus jumps off the balcony. "Bye now!!" She calls, using her wings to fly off into the distance.

"We need to catch up with her. She's heading for Feuno." Dart says. "We need a ship to pursue the Wingly." 

King Zior revives himself. "The gods that ran the heavens 11,000 years ago." He mutters, standing up. "You... She took the Moon Dagger!" 

"We'll chase after her. Do you have a ship here?" Dart asks.

"Not here. Not in Fletz. But in Donau. There is a port by the mayor's house. Tiberoa's ship, the _Queen Fury_, is in there. The commander is named Puler. He will let you on." Zior stumbles to his throne with the help of his two daughters. "Emille, you will need to tell me what happened..."

"Come on." Dart says with an unnatural light in his eyes. "We need to get to Donau."

Dart made us run the entire way.

Out of Fletz, through the Barrens, across the distance, into Donau. We arrived at the port breathless and panting. Even I, with the years of practice, am tired, and only with the sheer will I have cultivated am I able not to pant and pass out. We could have just transformed into Dragoons and flew, but Dart insisted that it would be wrong to leave Meru and Kongol. So we had had to run.

The commander, a tall colorful man dressed in pirate clothes, was waiting there, along with a blonde girl of around nine years old, probably his daughter Kayla.

We boarded the ship immediately after buying the sufficient items, and set sail.

The _Queen Fury_ is a steel ship, built with wooden decks and several floors and cabins. It is not a beautiful ship; it could never compare with Mille Seseau's _Saint Louvia_, which had been elegant, as everything was in that mysterious continent. Instead, the _Queen Fury_ was an ugly thing, a metal battleship with no taste. I may be a warrior, but my armor, my sword, my appearance overall seems rather fashionable, or at least presentable.

I ignore everyone and the crew's greetings, and climb up to the mast, as high as I can without disturbing the lookout.

I stare off into the sea, thinking first about our mission.

We need to get the Moon Dagger back, then go after Lloyd and find out the mystery with Shana, and get the Moon Gem back.

Albert had explained on the way about the Divine Moon Objects, although I already know the story.

After the Dragon Campaign, the Humans built the three cities in Tiberoa and Serdio and Mille Seseau. Each country's capital was given a Divine Moon Object by the Winglies as a sign of peace. They hold great magic power, which is probably why Lloyd is after them.

Or should I say Emperor Diaz?

I do not know why Greham and Doel said that it was Diaz.

Diaz had died 11,000 years ago in the Dragon Campaign. He had led our forces in Gloriano, and he died. I remember clearly. Either Diaz really has come back to life by some ultimate resurrection spell, or someone has a pure 23 hidden in their tunic. 

Turning my thoughts around, I think about what has happened in the past years.

For years I had not bothered to make any friends. I would never—could never—stay with them anyway, and they would always be repulsed if they found out my secret. Not to mention what had happened had left me seriously rattled.

I had been so young back then, in the war. All my friends had had to help me, comfort me. Even pretty Damia, who was younger than me but had more experience. She had been so insecure, and we often comforted each other. From the always-gentle Shirley to war-loving Kanzas to my own long lost love, they were always there. But...they had died, and I saw them die. That left me with a wound that would never close.

"Rose?" 

I do not need to turn around. By the footsteps and voice, I can tell it is Dart.

"So you're all the way up here. You like high places?"

"They're closer to the sky." I answer. I had spent half my life in the sky, flying. The Wingly battles were always in the sky, by the floating cities. I lost my friends in the sky. I wanted to be... with them, in some poetic way. "What is it you came up here for?"

"I wanted to know if you could tell me anything about the Black Monster."

I would tell you everything about it if you would only listen. I think, but I say differently. "Unfortunately I have nothing to tell you."

"Oh."

"What are you going to do when you catch him? Kill him to avenge your parents? That will satisfy your feelings?"

"'Revenge does not generate anything.'" Dart quotes. "That's what I learned from Lavitz. To tell you the truth, I don't know what I am going to do... or even what I want to do when I face the Black Monster. I just want to know what he is."

"I see..." I say shortly, and finally turn around to face him. And although the wild wind does not even ruffle my hair, it whips his hair around his face, pulling the dark blonde out of the headband that keeps it away from those bewitching eyes. He is smiling slightly, almost a confused but polite way. He looks so much like my old love. I almost...

I turn back to watching the sea. "Well, I can tell you something. Do you want to know what is the source of the power of Dragoons?" Without waiting for him to answer, I charge on. "War is not in human nature. Humans fight by making themselves enter insanity. It is...the same for revenge. This is a tool to amplify the insanity. And this insanity is the source of the power of Dragoons, the Dragon Knight. Someday something will happen and if you cannot chasten your insanity I wonder if you will be able to endure it given the size of your spirit?" I say idly. "…Sorry. It was just nonsense."

"When I finish with Lloyd, I will go on my journey to pursue the Black Monster. When I face him I will find my own answer to that." Dart says, in a far off voice, as if thinking aloud. Even without looking at him, I can see him shake his head, sketch a mock salute to me, and climb back down the ladder. 

Sighing inaudibly, I realize I am restless. 

On the deck, I can see Haschel right below me. He is laying on his back, staring up at the fiery dusk sky, which is slowly darkening into the violets and blacks of night. Thinking about his runaway daughter Claire, most likely. And Shana is standing by the railing, holding her hand out to the seagulls and singing.

I turn away, almost annoyed by her gentle sweetness. There were days when I was like that too, but those days are long past.

I turn my attention back to the sea, half my mind scanning the ocean for things that he might have missed, and half my mind thinking back on the days when I was still sweet and caring and honest.

"Rose?"

Slightly alarmed that I had not heard Shana come up the ladder, I angrily curse myself for my lack of alertness. I do not turn around; my cold exterior the only thing that I can cling to. "Did you need me for something?"

"Um. What are you thinking about?"

"Dart." I reply, turning around to see Shana's shocked face. "I'm kidding." I add.

"Oh. Heh." She replies, swallowing thickly. Maybe she thinks that I am lying and that I really was thinking of Dart, or she is simply surprised because I bothered to make a joke. 

Finding nothing else to say, she smiles slightly and climbs back down the ladder.

I don't hate her as much as I used to. I wonder if I should have said something. 

The soft thumping informs me that two people are climbing up the ladder but trying to be stealthy about it. I can hear their whispered voices; it is Dart and Meru. 

"Don't pull a prank on her." Dart warns. "She doesn't understand jokes."

For once, Meru is somber. "I won't. Rose has a mysterious personality. She's could but when it comes to a critical point, she leads us in a variety of ways."

"We are alive now because of Rose."

__

And so you shall stay that way.

"I agree." Meru nods her assent.

I have gotten used to her by now. Although she is talkative and nosy, she only wishes to know so she can help. She has an odd way of helping, though. But being with these people have made me weak; I no longer actually hate anyone.

The dancer's footsteps shift, but before she can speak, the lookout cries out.

"Commander! There's another ship!"

There is a ship in the distance, illuminated by the gentle moonlight. The wood is rotting, and the sails are torn and there are no people on board. A ship like that should not be able to sail as smoothly as it does. But yet it does.

"It's gonna slam!" 

I throw my arms over my head to protect myself, and wait as the inky blackness of unconsciousness claims me.


	2. The NotSoForgotten Past

****

CHAPTER TWO: PART TWO

When I awaken, all the others are doing the same. I could not have been out for more than a few minutes. Looking around, I see everyone in the crew and team are all right, climbing to their feet, with gashes and bruises, but otherwise unharmed.

Brushing chunks of wood out of my armor, I walk over to everyone, and what they are gaping at, and nearly gasp. 

__

Th…that s-ship is…

****

Haschel runs up to us, breathless. "Dart, I can't find Shana anywhere."

As if to answer, her scream, short but loud, pierces the air.

"Shana!" Dart leaps off the ship and uses a plank of wood as a bridge.

The scream came from the ghost ship. One of the _Queen Fury_'s planks had come off the deck so that it formed a sort of bridge to the other ship, which is ghostly and dark even with the lit candles and silvery moonlight.

As we run toward the screams, I can see ghosts moving. Three of them, shaped like normal skeletons, probably monsters of some sort, floating toward the cowering Shana, who is cornered against a locked cabin.

And out of nowhere, three knights appear. Dressed in full armor of bronze and boarhide, with crested helmets and swords in their hands. But they have no legs or feet, only a trail of vapor as they hover several inches off the deck. Silently, they slash the swords at the monsters, who disappear. There is no blood. The knights bow to Shana and do the same, fading away like spilled water being wiped.

"Shana, what happened?" Dart practically yells, kneeling by her.

"I...I don't know. The monsters...they were coming after me, and then they showed up and chased them away. I don't know why." The girl answers, getting to her feet.

"Why did you come here?"

"I didn't. I must have flown off the ship. I was standing by the railing, and when the ships crashed, I lost conciousness. When I woke up, I was here." Shana answers. "Oh...I feel like I know this place."

__

I do too. This is the Phantom Ship, where the entire crew was killed by the Black Monster. It used to be called the Saint Louvia_ eighteen years back. …Princess Louvia...a princess of some ancient family in Mille Seseau, but also one of the Moon Children killed by the Black Monster eighteen years ago. It will be another ninety years until the Black Monster comes again._

****

A ghost, dressed in black and white and red, appears like a teardrop falling and taking shape. "Help me… The bastard…the bastard is… I don't want to…die. H-help…" And he disappears the way he came, only falling upward.

"What?!" Dart yells.

Another appears. "We…cannot make it. We'll be killed by him. I don't want to die. H-help."

"What are they talking about?" Dart frowns, sheathing his sword against the nothingness.

"Let's look around." Meru suggests.

"Please, can we, Dart? Please! I need to see!" Shana practically falls to her knees and begs.

Dart could never resist her. "All right. But just for a little while. And everyone stay together!"

"Yes!" Shana runs off toward the cabin in the back.

Dart sighs. "What did I _just_ say?"

The cabin is the captain's, with a chandelier and a carpet and a well-done portrait a man, woman, and baby girl. I have seen it before. I am not impressed.

****

But Shana is. She gazes around, and her eyes stay on the picture. "I feel like I've seen them before."

"Maybe you have a secret connection to them." Haschel jokes. 

Him and his secret connections. I'm going to hurt him if he says that one more time.

The ghost of the captain appears in the chair, looking at us. He is transparent, only splashes of color, so that I can see the chair behind him.

"Please, help me! He…killed…the crew… Nanny…knights…me…and the newborn princess… Him… the Black Monster…"

"Wh-what? This was done by the Black Monster too?"

"We couldn't protect…the princess, so we couldn't finish dying. Pleaes destroy the fear…please send the souls of the knights to rest. AAARRGGHH!!"

"It's impossible to fully die." Dart says passionately, his hands in his hair as if he wants to pull the dark blonde strands out. As if physical pain could cancel out the pain inside. His voice is laced with emotion, furious and anguished. "He kills people for no reason!"

__

…

As we exit the cabin, the three knights reappear. 

"We won't give you Princess Louvia! We'll protect her even if it costs our lives!"

He slashes a sword downward.

Toward me.

"Rose!" Dart yells, moving forward as if to do something.

I stand still, waiting.

He cannot harm me. He is only a ghost. The blade passes harmlessly through me. The knights disappear.

"What happened?" Dart asks.

I shrug, keeping my face blank. "I don't know. But I am unharmed."

Albert speaks in a quiet voice. "'After counting 108 years, when the Moon That Never Sets glows red, a Moon Child descends upon the earth to fill the world with holy bliss.' However, what was actually brought was the child of destruction, the Black Monster. We are witnessing a tragedy from the past."

__

Shut up.

****

"It's awful! Why did it have to do this?" Shana wails.

__

Stop it!

****

"The Black Monster, again!" Dart snarls. "How many lives must he take before he is satisfied?"

"Stop it!" I scream, thrusting my hands over my ears, knocking my headpieces askew.

Dart turns to look quizzically at me, shocked. There is also concern in his eyes, because I have never had an outburst in front of him before.

I take my hands away from my ears, refastening the headpieces. "Sorry." I speak clearly, trying to sound casual. "What was I thinking?"

__

They shouldn't say that about the Black Monster. They can't say that!

Ignoring everyone's confused looks, I shift my feet, taking a step out of the way. "… Let's move on. You want to know, don't you?"

****

We start to head back to the _Queen Fury_, where Commander Puler and Kayla are waiting. But Shana feels drawn toward room, and we all headed in except for Kongol, who was too big and had to wait outside and guard.

Inside is a room with bare furniture covered in dust. It seems almost like a living room of some sort, and to the left is another locked door. 

When Shana tries to open the door, one of the ghost knights appear. The girl screams and ducks behind Dart, who draws his sword. 

"You, Black Monster. How dare you return here?" he demands.

Another appears. "How dare you come here, pursuing Princess Louvia?"

"Wait!" Dart calls. "We're not the Black Monster!"

Two other knights appear, with drawn swords. "How dare you, Black Monster, use human words to trick us!" 

__

The Black Monster isn't human, remember?

****

"We'll never let you near our Princess Louvia!" This one lunges forward, slashing with his sword.

The blade passes harmlessly through me, and the knight loses his balance, falling to the carpet. Soundlessly, he climbs back to his feet and moves to stand by his fellow knights.

Another knight appears, this one with a larger sword, and a silver helmet. The knight commander for the ship.

"If we have to die to protect Princess Louvia, then so be it. You will never get near her, Black Monster, you demon!" The ghost knight commander accuses, lifting his sword.

"Wait, what's going on?" It is Shana that screams it, stepping out from behind Dart. "Please... It's over. There is no more Black Monster. Please suffer no more."

The ghost commander lowers the sword, a shadow of a smile lighting his transparent face. "Princess Louvia...you are safe. Oh thank God. We thought the Black Monster killed you. Now we can finally go to the place where we should be."

The five knights disappear.

"Wait! What's going on? Who's Princess Louvia?" Shana wonders.

"She was a princess of an ancient royal family of Mille Seseau. Eighteen years ago, she was killed on this ship by the Black Monster. This ship used to be named the _Saint Louvia_." I inform them, nonchalantly tossing my hair over my shoulder. "Someone told me."

"You have interesting information sources. You seem to know an awful lot of things." Albert comments.

I glare at him. Perhaps he already knows. Kings are supposed to be smarter, aren't they?

"The door's open. Let's go." Shana is already moving into the next room.

It looks much like the one we just left, but with an elaborate cradle for a baby. Nothing is in there, but Shana runs her hands along the crib anyway.

A plump old woman who looks like a nurse walks in, a ghost, of course. Her face is worn and sad, as if she has been mourning all her life. 

"Princess Louvia..." she moans quietly, crying.

"Who are you?" Shana asks her. 

The nurse looks up at her, her features growing wider into a smile. "Princess? Is that you? Oh, it was not in vain. Oh thank God. I thought you died. I was crying for you all these years. Now I can finally leave here, knowing you are safe."

She does the same disappearing trick as the knights.

"Wait!" Shana calls. "What's going on? What connection do I have to this person?"

The ship begins to shake. 

"It's sinking!" Dart realizes. "Everyone get off NOW!" 

We all bolt out of the room. The ship is sinking fast, rumbling, making it hard to keep balance.

Puler looks up as we leap over the plank onto his ship. Kongol first, then Haschel, then Meru. Shana pauses, and does the same.

"Dart!" I yell, pausing on the phantom ship's railing as Albert jumps to the _Queen Fury_. Dart had stayed in the back to make sure that everyone left before he did, and now he is the last one. "Hurry up!"

Because there is no time, we leap together. I land safely on the plank, but Dart slips.

Like before, I dive down after him, grabbing his hand. My legs wrap around the plank to try and support us. Splinters tear through my pale skin. I can hear our friends screaming, but my mind is focused on one thing.

Dart's eyes are wide. "Rose! You're going to fall! Let go!"

"No!" I scream back. 

__

This is the same as back then!

****

"No, I won't let you go! I won't let it happen again!" 

"Rose?" Shana yells.

__

It happened just like this! I lost him this way, I'm not going to lose Dart too!

****

Another rumbling as the phantom ship finally sinks throws me off balance, and the plank cracks in half. Both Dart and I tumbled down into the churning ocean. 

"Rose! Dart!" 

The water was _cold_. 

It didn't matter. I had grown too accustomed to cold, both physical and emotional, to be bothered. The splashes had entirely swallowed us, and I cannot see above the surface.

****

Frowning even underwater, I tug on my left leg. It is trapped under one of the rocks, which must have fallen as we landed. Grimacing, I give a vicious pull, and my leg comes free, albeit a long gash that will leave a faint scar.

__

Dart! Where is he?

****

I had never been very good at swimming. I much rather preferred the sky. And although I do know how to swim if the occasion calls for it, the Suncrest Ocean is not familiar to me. 

__

Dart! Oh gods, I can't lose him. Where IS he? Gods, it's so dark down here. I can't find him.

****

Resorting to an idea I should have thought of before, I grab at my choker. The darkness Dragoon pendant begins to glow with a violet light, illuminating the water just barely.

__

Red-eyed Dragoon, where are you? Light my way to find you!

****

A faint red star-like light glows far off to my right, sinking fast.

__

NO!

****

My lungs are burning for air, but I do not care. The important thing is to save Dart. Kicking my legs, I swim toward him. 

The warrior is unconscious, eyes closed. 

__

Oh gods no...

****

Ignoring the pounding of my heart, and the pulsing in my head, I grab him, one arm around his waist to support him, and kick upward as hard as I can. 

It is heavy with two people, and by the time I finally break the surface, my lungs are about to explode. I gasp in the precious air, and turn to face Dart.

__

Is he okay?

****

He is still unconscious, and my hands are too shaky to tell if he is alive or dead.

Floating on my back, I kick toward a large flat shadow in the distance, hopefully an island.

I do not know how long it takes. It seemed like all of eternity and more. Thoughts ran in my head faster than humanly possible. 

__

Oh gods, oh gods... this is just like last time. I grabbed at his hand, and he was pulled out of my grip. I lost him then. I never saw him again. He vanished, died. Oh gods, please let Dart be okay.

****

Something grazes my back, and I realize that I have reached the shore. Struggling to my hands and knees, I breathe hard, and stand up, dragging Dart out of the water. 

Sand stretches as far as I can see, unbroken except for occasional trees. But there is a cave in front of me, and that is where I head, half-dragging, half-carrying the weight of the body.

It is a short cave, no more than twenty meters or so, but I prop Dart against the stone wall of the cave and order my hands to stop shaking. When they obey, I check for a pulse. 

Under the wetness of the saltwater, I feel a steady beating pulse.

"Oh gods..." I sigh my relief. "Thank you."

Leaving him there, I go search for firewood, not wanting either of us to get hypothermia. I take the two swords with me and simply hack down the nearest tree, cutting them into logs that are suitable. I call on the darkness Dragoon Spirit and the fire Dragoon Spirit, for a spark of flame, and then lean against the wall for rest. 

I look at the warrior lying unconscious beside me. With his hair plastered to his forehead, he looks so much like my old love. 

Gently, unsure why, I cradle his head in my lap.

"Dart and Zieg, they are so much alike. Not only are they Dragoons recognized by the Red-Eyed Dragon, but there is something else, something that attracts me... After 11,000 years of time, I now feel the strength of tenderness of Dart... and even... his frailty." I pause, not sure who I am speaking to. "These tame the insanity of the Dragoon for me." I feel infinite sadness rise in my throat. "Zieg... if my hands could grab him, I wouldn't have had this bitterness."

My mind takes me back to that time and place, the Dragon Campaign 11,000 years ago, the last battle, fought in the floating Wingly Palace in the Capital Kadessa of the sky.

Oh gods, the Dragon Campaign. A hell-war of Winglies and manipulated Virages against Dragons and their human knights, Dragoons. A series of bloody battles that killed all the Dragoons except for one.

The Dragoon of the Black Burst Vassal Dragon of Darkness.

Me.

I had been alive back then.

The fire crackles as I lean my head back and reenact that fateful day where I lost everything I had ever loved.

Wings beating against the air, sword drawn. 

The Virage was enormous, a Super Virage. A real ugly monster, firing blast after blast of powerful green laser. Too powerful. I needed to retreat. 

"Rose, let's go!" Zieg yelled, flying ahead, red wings thrashing.

I hurried to catch up with him, and realized we were missing the third member. I stopped, hovering in midair.

"Kanzas!" I screamed.

The Thunder Dragoon was hanging onto the snout of the Virage, hanging on with his life. An evil smirk was on his face.

"Not bad." He hissed. "But I'm taking you with me!" 

"Kanzas, no!" I knew the utter determination on his face. He was the one who had always loved battle; seeing blood only made his bloodlust grow. And now he was going to take down one of the most powerful Virage by himself, for the thrill or for the honor I don't know. 

The source of power within him contracted on command, squeezing the Spirit until the only way it could go was out. And still Kanzas held on, his hands bleeding on the Virage's skin. His face was still grinning almost demonically as the Spirit exploded, along with the Virage, and the Thunder Dragoon's body. 

I never admired him more.

I was too dazed to move anywhere. The rising blast of electrified fire hypnotized me with its power. I had no idea that Kanzas was that strong. I had no idea he would do that.

"Rose! Move!" Zieg grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way of the explosion.

"Zieg!" I was at a loss for words. "Kanzas...he just..."

"I know. I saw." He said grimly, considerate enough to give me a quick hug even in the heat of battle. "This has gone on for far too long. I'm going right to the top! I'm going to kill Melbu Frahma for this!" 

"Zieg, wait! Don't go alone!" I fluttered my wings trying to keep up with his quick pace. I knew I couldn't help him; I was the youngest most inexperienced Dragoon out of all seven. I couldn't help him beat Melbu Frahma; I would just get in the way. But I couldn't let him risk his life fighting the most important, most powerful Wingly without knowing what was going on. 

Zieg paused for just a second to allow me to grab his hand, and we flew together toward the Palace of Winglies. 

"Michael!" I yelled, calling on my Dragon. 

The Darkness Dragon turned away from watching the Humans battle the Winglies below to come obey me. _What is it you called on me for?_

"The Virage!" I pointed, never ceasing to fly, at the Virage pursuing us.

****

The most powerful Dragon turned to face the incoming Virage. The skin and bones surrounding its heart opened, and a black power poured forth. Strong as a tumbling waterfall, black as darkness itself, the power collided with the Virage, which struggled for a few seconds but then was obliterated with no trace that it had ever existed at all.

Those few seconds were enough for Zieg and I to duck into the entrance of the Wingly Palace.

Melbu Frahma was in the circular auditorium, watching the battle with hungry eyes. 

"Go hide somewhere. You can't help me now." my love whispered gently.

I wanted to help, to fight alongside him at the cost of my life, but I knew I would only get in the way. So I released his hand and flew above to perch next to a gargoyle in the shadows of a platform.

"Melbu Frahma!" Zieg yelled, the fire-sword drawn. 

The Wingly Emperor turned from the window to face the Fire Dragoon. He was a tall man with sharp features. Sharp face, sharp ears, sharp nose. Long arms and legs. Long face. Looked like a cross between an alien and a Dark Elf. His skin was an aqua color, symbolizing his Wingly Emperor status, and his eyes glinted with an evil green light. Decked in armor even though he was only watching the battle, the Dragon Buster unsheated by his side.

He drew the sword as Zieg approached him, and then they began to combat, Melbu Frahma on his floating mobile platform and Zieg manuevering with his flaming wings.

I remember watching him, admiring him even before I joined the Dragoons and got my Dragon. I was the newest Dragoon, the youngest, most inexperienced. It took me time to learn how to attack properly and cast the magic spells. But Zieg was patient. He taught me carefully, never losing his temper, always smiling, quick to reassure me. He was the strongest, and our leader. I remember watching him battle Melbu Frahma just then, watching his fluidness, his grace. How he took every advantage there was, and ducking in the narrow spaces between the two swords. He was the best, the strongest.

Melbu Frahma was no idiot either. His movements were sharp and quick, and it was hard for Zieg, with all his experience, to keep up. 

I was awed as I perched by the gargoyle, watching the fight. Battle cries echoed throughout the empty auditorium, bouncing off the ceiling and floor and walls. Other than that, everything was silent except for the beating of wings and the sound of swords clashing.

Through the sliver of a crack beside me, I could see outside, to the war. 

Syuveil, the scholarly Wind Dragoon, had died early in the war, in one of the earlier battles. I was battling a Virage with Astral Drain, too busy and stupid to see the other one coming up silently behind me. 

Feyrbrand's master had leapt in front of me, using Gaspless to eliminate the Virage. But the damage was done, the laser beam fired. The Wind Dragoon was no more. 

That was when the actual deal of the war struck me. I had looked around and saw people dying, Winglies and Humans alike. And I knew that I would have to play my part, no matter what.

Damia was the youngest, actually, but she taught me a great many things. She was too young to be part of the war, but she fought with a fire within her Water Dragoon Spirit. She was a pretty thing, and would have had a nice life if she hadn't been a Dragoon with so much responsibility.

And right now, outside, I could see Shirley fleeing from a Super Virage, her silvery light making her a clear target. She ducked under one of the pillars in the circular floating city of Kadessa, the Wingly Capital.

But the Super Virage pursued, cornering her against the walls. It fired one shot, knocking the ceiling down.

Shirley screamed, her arms above her head.

A golden light flared, and her own love was next to her. 

"Belzac!" She screamed, seeing that the Dragoon of the Golden Dragon was supporting the ceiling with a cost. The skin on his arms were being torn, and he was bleeding in several places.

Not to mention the Super Virage charging up for another shot.

And Shirley noticed this, and she knew what would happen.

"Belzac!" She said again, more forcefully. "Your death won't be in vain!" 

She held up her silver bow, and fitted an arrow of shimmering white light. Amber-sap eyes narrowed, mouth drawn in a tight line, she released the arrow.

A shout brought my attention back to the Zieg / Melbu Frahma battle. 

This fight would end the war, determine the fate of the entire Human and Wingly race. The entire war and future of the world depended on this one battle. Zieg was not the ruler of the human forces, he was not Emperor Diaz of Gloriano, but he was well-respected and the most powerful of all.

My love noticed the opening at the same time I did, and thrust his arm forward. The flame-sword broke through the elegant armor of the Wingly Emperor, until the blade came through his back.

Zieg did not look regretful. He knew it had to be done.

"How dare you?" Melbu Frahma hissed in a voice I trembled at, cowering behind the gargoyle.

The city began to crumble, the ceiling cracking. 

The floating platform crumbled, and the two tumbled down several hundred feet.

"Zieg!" I gasped, and pushed myself off the ledge. I didn't care what danger I might face. I needed to know what happened!

Several meteor-like rocks were floating upward, disturbed by the magic Melbu Frahma released as he died. I couldn't see him anywhere, but I didn't care. Where was Zieg?

I could hear the Wingly Emperor's voice. 

"Wrapped to your very core in my eternal curse!" 

I ducked past one of the floating rocks. There! There he was! Lying facedown on one of the rocks that was drifting quickly away from me, unmoving. His wings sprawled, useless, on top of him. His armor was scratched and bloodied.

And his legs were stone. 

His red armor, turning grayish, as the spell traveled upward.

__

Oh gods no...

****

The curse of Melbu Frahma, eternal petrification. 

__

NO!!!

****

"Zieg!" I screamed. 

One of the rocks struck my leg, but it only drove my adrenaline and determination. I lunged forward, grabbing his outstretched hand, trying to pull him off the rock, as if that would save him.

"Let go." he groaned. "Save yourself."

The spell transformed his hand into a statue, and he was completely stone. The silky dark blonde hair, the forever-changing eyes, his wonderful disposition, all gone because of one curse. 

A meteor struck my arm, the rock my only love was on drifted away, and I lost him forever.

"Zieg!" My scream trailed off into a choked sob, and tears blurred my vision. 

My common sense took over, and I knew it was time to get out of the Palace before the entire place collapsed on me. I had memorized the way when I flew in, and I ducked out just in time.

I had never been the same since then. Zieg's death had hurt me like no blade or axe or arrow ever could. I drifted down from the sky as the city fell as well. I had knelt there in the rubble, my hands covering my face, sobbing.

The Humans, those silly Humans, they had no idea what I had lost! They threw a huge celebration, fireworks in the sky, a marvelous feast. They screamed and shouted and hugged each other because they had won the war.

Was it really so much of an accomplishment if so many had died? All my friends? The only love I would ever have? 

They had invited me, the last surviving Dragoon, to the celebration, but I had declined. 

I found Shirley still alive in the destruction, but just barely. She was beyond hope. Even her Dragoon Spirit of the White Silver Healing Dragon couldn't help her. It was all I could do to sit there, holding my friend's hand.

Even as she died, Shirley spent her last few moments alive comforting me. I would never forget that.

The once-magnificent floating Wingly capital of Kadessa was in ruins. For an entire fortnight I searched through the devastating ruins, driven by some insane thought called "hope" that Zieg might possibly still be alive.

But I couldn't even find his body. 

I couldn't even find the body of Melbu Frahma. It was as if the battle had never even happened. 

I stayed away from everyone. All the Humans that tried to come near me, to congratulate me. 

What did I deserve the praise for? I couldn't help anyone. I couldn't save Zieg.

I bade the Dragons goodbye. The three that were still remaining anyway. Regole, Feyrbrand, Michael. Their Dragoon Spirits would find new masters, but the Dragons wanted to leave. I did not stop them. I wanted to leave too. I wanted to leave forever, to just curl up into a little ball and die. 

But my Dragon, Michael, stayed with me, a faithful friend that traveled with me no matter what happened.

I spent an entire year in hiding, crying at night, sleeping at day. Michael guarded me. He could not speak verbally, but I knew that he mourned the loss of everyone as well.

The grief of seeing Zieg being torn from me and my doing nothing about it would always stay with me. But then I learned of the prophecy, and I knew that it was Zieg's work. But he wasn't here, so I had to do it, no matter what the consequences. And for the 11,000 years, I have done so, without regret, because it was what I had to do.

With a jolt, I awaken myself from the dream of reenactment. 

For a moment I am disconcerted, seeing the small cave and the fire, and Dart. But then I remember, and I sigh once. 

"I saw Zieg in Dart." I remember the hope I had felt in the forest, after I had saved him from Feyrbrand. "But...Dart is Dart. He is not Zieg." He will never be Zieg. "No, he is not Zieg."

He will never be able to end this sadness.

When I wake up the next day, I am staring at a little boy.

Dark-skinned, wearing simple clothes, fair golden hair. Around ten years of age. A villager?

"Hey, there's someone here!" he calls.

I leap up, drawing my sword.

"Ouch!" Dart's head had slid off my lap and hit the stone floor. "Ow..." he sits up, rubbing his forehead. "What...happened...? Rose! Are you okay? What happened? The last thing I remember is the phantom ship."

I sheathe my sword again, giving him a hand up. "You fell. I tried to catch you. I failed. We both fell in the water. You were unconscious, so I dragged you out of the ocean and put you here. A night has passed. This boy," I gesture sharply. "Found us."

"My name is Pete. I live in the nearby village, Lidiera. You can come with me." He says excitedly, putting a hand on his shepherd dog. "This is Pooch. He's friendly. Come on!"

I wait until Dart leaves before I do.

As we walk Dart asks about Shana. I tell him what I can, but I do not know much. "She was worried about you. She screamed when you fell. I think she nearly jumped before Albert and Meru stopped her."

Lidiera is a small place, a fishing town, with only seven or so roughly made huts. An ocean terrace sits in the water. Pete's house is near it, also in the water, so that we have to wade over to get in.

Pete lives with his mother, a woman with a sickness that I can sense as soon as I walk in. The little boy explains everything to his mother, and then turns to us.

"Are you two in love? Because you were traveling alone, and then in the cave..." Pete looks around. "Don't you think so, Ma?"

"Yes." the woman answers, coughing. "You two make a cute couple."

Dart smiles.

"Don't be silly." I tell the mother, politely though, because I am a guest with no direction. I have never heard of Lidiera. 

"We're looking for our friends. There's actually seven of us." Dart supplies.

Pete's mother's body wracks with choking coughs. 

"Are you all right?" Dart asks.

"It's nothing. Cough**." Pete's ma waves it off.**

"Actually we were supposed to be at the clinic today." Pete chirps. "It's in the neighboring town."

"Neighboring town?" I echo.

"Yeah, it's Feuno. They got a boat to Donau!"

I lock gazes with Dart. _That was our destination. The others should be there._ He nods once. 

"Pete, I know we rarely have guests." The mother says. "But we have to let them go."

The little boy smiles up at Dart. "I hope you find your friends soon! Tell them hi for me!"

"All right."

"Dart. We should hurry."

I jump off the house and into the water, swimming over to the pier. Dart follows, the dark blonde hair plastering to his forehead with water. Oh gods above, with his hair flat and framing his face like that in such an original style, he looks more and more like Zieg.

The town is small, and it takes us five minutes to get to the entrance. 

"Dart!"

Pete runs up to us, his dog beside him. "Can you take us to Feuno?"

"This is about your mother, isn't it." Dart states it.

"Yeah."

"It's all right. You can come with us."

"I'll annihilate that monster for you." I tell him. 

My voice was probably a bit more menacing than I intended, because both Pete and Dart backed up, and the dog Pooch ran off.

"Did I say something wrong?" I ask.

"N-No. I'll go get my Ma." Pete runs off down the beach that is the town and jumps into the water.

I shrug. I was trying to help. What's with them? I turn to see Dart staring at me. "What are you looking at?" I say.

He shrugs, looking away quickly. "No-nothing. Come on."

The undersea cavern is shorter than Pete described, and the enemies hardly put up a fight. It is easy to get to Feuno. But the path is long; the underwater current must have taken Dart and I farther than I thought. The journey takes us two days. 

But something about the water in the cave is strange. It flows to a different place, a place where I can sense anger and blood.

Feuno is much larger than Lidiera, with more people. The roads are paved with cobblestone, and the houses are made of smooth brick, rounded. 

"Thanks, Dart and Rose!" Pete exclaims. "My ma can get to the clinic now."

Pete's mother bows to thank us, smiling, a flash of white against dark skin. Pete hesitates for a moment.

"But...are you actually in love with each other? Because in the cave..."

I leap forward, my hands around his throat. I do not respond well to this topic. "You are a good boy and didn't see anything, okay?" I snarl.

Pete swallows. "O-okay. I didn't see it...maybe!" he runs off before I can stop him.

But just as I think he is gone, he reappears at the top of the steps leading downward. "Hey, Rose! You gotta confess to him!"

"Grr..." I run toward the boy, but he yells and runs off, this time for real. "Kids…"

"What are you looking at?" I ask Dart again, harshly.

"Nothing!" he says quickly, waving his hands in front of him. "Come on. Let's check if the others are here."

"Feuno is a place between two continents, Tiberoa and Mille Seseau. We have goods here from both continents, and hot springs. The treatments are long, but they are worth it." One of the townspeople tell us. "I don't know who your friends are, but the _Queen Fury_ just came in a couple of days ago."

We follow her directions down to the port. She is right. This place is the intersection between the two continents. There is everything here, from the mysterious silks and tapestries of Mille Seseau to the jewels and silver from Tiberoa.

I can see the blonde head of young Kayla in the port, speaking with one of the crew members.

"Yeah…" She is saying when we reach her, her back facing us. "But in so dangerous a storm…even for the powerful Dart and Rose."

The crew member notices us, and his eyes widen. "You-you are…"

Kayla turns around and sees us, jumping back two meters. "Mister Dart! Miss Rose! You're alive!"

"We worried you." Dart comments.

"Have you seen Miss Shana yet?"

Dart shakes his head. 

"Please hurry and see her! She hasn't said a single word since you disappeared!"

"Is she on the ship?" Dart starts to run for the entrance to the _Queen Fury._

"No, everyone's in the city now!" Kayla yells after him

Waiting for Dart to run back, the two of us go back up the stairs and through the stores and streets.

As we walk through the marketplace, someone collides with Dart.

"Hey, ouch! Don't you have eyes?!" A familiar voice demands crossly.

"Meru!" 

The dancer gets to her feet, and looks at us. "Oh...? Dart!! Rose!! I knew it! You two are alive!" She starts jumping and flinging her arms, as she does when she is excited. "Oh good grief, we've been waiting forever! Did you see Shana yet?"

Dart shakes his head. 

"Bad boy!" Meru scolds him as if he is a dog. "Follow me!" She runs off and pauses at the top of the steps. "Come on! Hurry up!"

The hotel is the largest building in Feuno, and not hard to find. Along the way, I keep my senses open, but I do not feel Lenus's magical powers anywhere in Feuno.

At the hotel, Haschel, Albert, and Kongol are waiting at one of the tables in the bar on the first floor. They jump up when they see us. 

"We were getting tired of waiting!" Haschel says, hugging Dart.

"Welcome back!" Instead of hugging, Albert just holds out his hand. 

Kongol crosses his arms over his massive chest. "You, die, impossible." He declares.

I interrupt the greetings. "Hurry. You should go see Shana." I urge to Dart. 

"She's upstairs." Meru informs him. "She's in the last room in the hallway. She praying for you."

Dart runs up the stairs.

Silently, I walk over to the bar, and instead of ordering an alcoholic beverage, I just take some mild wine.

I can hear Albert and Haschel whispering behind me.

"Rose. She has changed somehow." Haschel says.

"I agree. It seems as though she has calmed down. Anyway, it is a good thing." Albert answers.

__

I have changed... Why? Perhaps being with all of you, so good and virtuous and weak, has made me change. 

****

Meru jumps up from her seat on the table. "I'm going to go see! I need to learn about love and romance!" She runs soundlessly up the stairs. Albert and Haschel follow.

Kongol turns toward me. "Swimming, hard?"

I shake my head.

"Kongol cannot swim. Giganto not good swimmers." He says.

"Maybe you'll learn someday." I answer, and then pause. "Do you still dream of a perfect world where everyone is equal?"

The Giganto nods.

I turn back to my drink. After that dream-reenactment, the killing in the world stands out even more to me.

Several minutes later, Albert and Haschel run down, Meru behind them, and finally Dart and Shana. Shana has been crying, but now she is happy. Was she crying because she was worried for Dart, or because she was so happy to see him?

Would I cry if I saw Zieg right now? Do I even remember how to cry?

Dart explains what happened when we fell off the ship, and I listen, correcting him where he is wrong or exaggerating.

"Um..." Meru shifts mildly. "May I ask you a question?"

Six heads turn toward her. "Why are you being so formal?"

Meru grins, looking from me to Dart. "You guys were alone in the cave weren't you?"

"Yeah." Dart answers carefully, warily.

"Did you put yourselves in a romantic situation?"

I squeeze my wineglass until the glass shatters. The maid hurries over to clean it up. _How dare you say that?! I will only love one person in my life! I will wait no matter how many thousands of years it will take._

But before I can snap at her, Haschel jumps in, probably anticipating. "Meru! Don't be silly. Even if you did want to learn about love and romance, that's rude!" 

"Okay." Meru says, hopping onto a table and swinging her legs back and forth.

Haschel pauses and turns to Dart. "...So, Dart, did you cuddle with Rose?"

****

"Haschel!" Five voices yell, mine the loudest.

I pick the salt shaker off the table and hurl it across the room. Haschel ducks before the object hits his head. 

The bartender hurries over to pick it up and then looks at me. "Hey!"

I glare at him, smoke colored eyes flashing with fury. 

He shuts up.

"I'm just kidding." Haschel is apologizing. "I'm sorry. It slipped out."

"What do you mean, 'slipped'?" Dart says dryly. 

"Don't worry, Shana." I say to the girl sitting next to Dart. "Dart was worried about you the entire time." _Well, the entire time he was conscious, anyhow._

She smiles at me. I know that she trusts me. 

"Anyway..." I flick a piece of glass of my arm. "About Lenus..."

"Oh! That's right! That's why I went into the marketplace!" Meru jumps up again. "I went to go see Commander Puler and Kayla. They said that they have some information on where Lenus is."

"All right. Let's gather the healing items we need, and then go talk to them." Dart says, playing the leader again. No one here would challenge him. One reason because he would win, and the other reason because they are content with him as leader.

Puler says that people have seen a flying woman on Prison Island, which is the other water-flowing path I had seen while traveling in the underwater cavern.

Dart knows where it is as well, and he leads the way. 

Along the journey, Shana falls into step with me. "Was Dart really worried about me, or were you just saying that to cover up?"

I throw her a nasty look. "Dart is a nice young man, but I am not attracted to him in any romantic way. He's yours, Shana. Trust me on that. He was concerned about you. He was unconscious half the time anyway, so don't think about what Haschel and Meru said. They're just being silly. Dart's heart belongs only to you."

Shana smiles. "Thank you."

The water flows through another cave, and we pause on the path, deciding what to do. 

An animal roar rips through the air.

Meru drops down, her arms around her knees, and her head resting on her elbows.

"What is that?" Haschel demands.

I walk to the edge of the platform, looking down at the swirling water. "It seems that rumors that the people have been saying are true. They said that the Sea Dragon is here...otherwise known as the Dragon of Water. Lenus must be his master."

"That's the cry of the Sea Dragon." Meru says in a quiet quivering voice.

"It's a powerful Dragon. I don't blame you for being scared." I tell Meru.

"I'm not scared!" She insists, jumping up. "A Dragon or two is nothing!"

"But either way, we have to fight it." Dart says pointedly. "And to fight it, we have to go through there to get to the Prison Island Cave." He gestures to the flowing water. "Can you all swim? Rose, I know you can. What about the rest of you?"

"I only know the basics." Shana answers, shrugging.

"I guess I can." Albert says, eyeing the water with distaste.

"A Rouge master must know how to swim as well." Haschel says, grinning.

"I'll be okay!" Meru chirps, and is the first one to dive in.

Kongol shakes his head furiously. "Kongol cannot swim."

Meru surfaces, spitting out water. "Don't worry, Kongol. It's not that deep!"

That is a fact. When Meru's feet touch the ground, the water is four feet or so above her head, and the dancer is petite. Kongol is nearly twice her height.

"She's right, Kongol. You can just walk." Albert says. "But the rest of us aren't that tall. We'll have to swim. Come on." Taking the green cape off and tying it around his waist, the king jumps in.

Taking a deep breath, Haschel does the same, and Shana awkwardly drops in. 

"Dart, go on ahead." I say.

The warrior takes in a lungful of air and dives in. 

"Kongol?"

The Giganto shakes his head. "Rose go first."

I stare at him with smoke-colored eyes. "You go in first. I want to make sure you come along. You will never overcome your fears if you do not face them."

Kongol stays silent.

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Now get in." 

When the giant still does not move, I sigh impatiently, and move behind him. Straining, I push all six hundred pounds of him into the water.

He gives a short yell, a deep fearful protest, but realizes that the water only reaches his shoulders and laughs. 

"See?" I brace myself on the ledge and drop in. "It's not bad. Now let's catch up with the others." Awkwardly, I float on my stomach and kick with my legs.

"Rose changed." Kongol says, stomping behind me.

I turn over to float on my back so I can see him. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Rose harsh before. Nicer now."

I shrug, treading water. "Perhaps. Do you think it is better or worse?"

"Better."

"Then I'll try to keep this way." I turn to float on my stomach again, and kick out, propelling myself forward.

"Guys, over here!" Meru shouts, jumping up and down on solid land. "I found the path! Hurry up! You're so slow!"

I use my arms to push myself out of the water, and Dart and I help Kongol up, dripping wet. We all look so silly that they laugh.

I do not. I forgot how to. 

Haschel turns to look at me, questioning in his eyes, but I shake my head. I still cannot remember.

After we dry off partially, we start down the path Meru found. It leads us right to Lenus, dressed in her Amazon armor, with the scarlet cap over her hair.

****

Lloyd is with her. 

From where we are, I cannot hear them, but Lenus hands Lloyd the glittering Moon Dagger, and puts her arms around him, but he doesn't respond. 

__

You love a man who does not love you back. That is harsh.

****

Lenus is annoyed when we show up. "Hey, you're disturbing my moment here!! You're gonna pay for this!!"

Dart draws his sword. "Wh-Why is Lloyd here?! Is this all part of your plot?!"

Lloyd speaks in his calm smooth voice. "My will is with Emperor Diaz. Namely everything was plannd by the god."

__

Emperor Diaz is DEAD! I glare at the Winglies, snarling scornfully, "You are still talking about that crap!" 

Albert speaks harshly for the first time I have met him, his words clipped and angry. "You killed Lavitz! Let us settle this score now!!"

"I have the calling to reform the world. I have not time to pay attention to little things, like Lavitz." Lloyd replies smoothly.

__

Oh that's low.

****

"Lloyd!" Dart yells.

"I cannot stand it anymore!" Albert points his elegant lance at the Lloyd's neck.

Lloyd merely smiles a cat smile at Dart. "I am the one who torched your home to the ground. I am the one who deprived your friend of his life. And I hold the Moon Gem and the Moon Dagger in my hands! You abhor me, don't you?" he leaps to the edge of the platform. "I am heading to Mille Seseau. Pursue me if you can survive!" And then he is gone.

Dart moves forward, enraged to find out that Lloyd is the Black Monster, as he confessed that he was the 'one who torched your home to the ground'. But the platinum-haired swordsman is already gone, as if he had never been there. Dart growls, moving forward and aiming his blade at Lenus.

"Easy, easy!" She says, smiling coyly. "Wait a minute. Don't be so hasty! It was nice of him giving you an invitation, but you gotta decline it. Because, you will die now. Regole!"

Dragons are not quite as beautiful as the ones described in human storybooks. They do not always look like enlarged lizards with wings and claws and teeth.

Such as Regole. He looks more of a blue-black sea snake, with gleaming reddish-blue eyes and feeling-whiskers like a lobster's. Not a beautiful Dragon.

Lenus is the Dragoon of Water, clothed is beautiful silvery armor and white wings. A tight-fitting helmet fits over her platinum hair. All Winglies have platinum hair, but that does not mean that all platinum haired people are Winglies. Although I do suspect...

"Regole, attack!" 

Tidal Wave 

Regole leaps three times around the platform we stand on, and it takes quite a while to get his long body back in the water. A cylinder of water rises around us, and closes down in giant waves. 

I gag on the water, clawing my way up to the surface before the water subsides into little ripples and the platform is stone again. 

"Die!" I run forward, slashing. "Hard Blade!"

In the Dragon Campaign, Regole could not fly, for he has no wings. It is hard enough for him to go on land, so he took care of the water battles, ambushing the passing Winglies and their supplies, maybe shooting up lasers and sprays of water to the Virages that were close enough. He stayed in the water, and the humans who needed temporary shelter to heal themselves would head to the water with Regole, for no Wingly would be stupid enough to attack a Sea Dragon in the element of it. Regole was more of a backup and a healer than anything else, but I couldn't help loving him as a friend.

No matter how many masters it had, the Dragoon Spirit's armor is always the same. Lenus is clothed in the same armor as Damia. But no longer do the Dragoon armor hold the same magic and power. Back in the Dragon Campaign, I only had to shift my wings, and excess shimmering power would filter around me like glittering stars. 

As I step back from my attack, I feel a strange feeling wash over me, as if Regole is doing his Tidal Wave attack again. But instead of damaging my reserved energy, something snaps in my mind, and I unlock a piece of knowledge that has been buried.

I run forward again, slashing. From left to right, up to down, twirling leap and slice down, spinning leap again but slicing up, thrust, slice, thrust. "Demon's Dance!" I land with my right leg drawn back in a straight line, my left knee bent, my right arm back.

A power fills me that I never knew before. My ultimate attack, the Demon's Dance. 

__

Why after 11,000 years did it surface? Why not during the Dragon Campaign? All the others got theirs, I though I was a failure. But why did I learn it now, fighting Regole? Traveling with these new Dragoons, protecting them? Perhaps it is an omen.

****

It takes 100 turns before Regole drops, lifeless, his head against the stone platform.

__

I'm sorry, Regole.

****

"Regole!? How dare you!!" Lenus descends from her spot up on the rock monument and fights us.

Although she was difficult in Fletz, and even though she wears the armor of the Water Dragoon, it takes only one strong slash from Dart's sword to fall her.

Lenus is bleeding, but two circular throwing knives are in her hands.

"Lloyd..." She says quietly, and then looks up, and her face is tight with fury and determination. "My life...is for you!" 

She hurls the circular knives at Dart. Doing so takes her last energy, and she falls to the ground, groaning.

"Dart, look out!" Shana runs forward and knocks the warrior out of the way, flinging her arms around his neck. The first knife circles harmlessly in front of him and back to where Lenus should be. But she is lying on the ground, defeated, so the knife buries itself in the tree behind her.

The second knife is traveling toward the two of them.

Dart catches Shana, shifting her to his left arm. His right arm slashes with his sword, deflecting the knife so that it clatters harmlessly to the ground.

I stare down at Lenus. She is twitching, murmuring something about Lloyd. A girl in love would do something like this, die for her love. I remember that I would have done the same thing. I feel a strange pity toward this Water Dragoon.

I turn to look at the others, and see that they have all gone over to see if Dart and Shana are okay. Except for Meru. She is standing there, with her hands clasped in front of her, pity and sadness in her eyes. There is something she is not telling us. Perhaps she has some connection with Lenus.

"Lloyd…" Lenus moans, her eyes closing. Her body fades away in a bluish aura, but her Dragoon Spirit leaves her, and travels toward Meru, attaching itself around her throat.

"This is..."

"Is that the Water Dragoon Spirit?" Dart asks.

"Does that mean I'm a Dragoon now too?" For once, Meru's voice is quiet.

"Oh, I am surprised Meru was recognized." I say. 

"Does that mean the Dragoon Spirit chose me? Does that mean…am I one of the Dragoons?"

I nod.

"I'm a Dragoon now! All right! This is so cool!" Meru starts to jump up and down and dance again, as she always does. 

__

Being a Dragoon is not 'cool'. It comes with a deadly responsibility.

****

"It seems strange that so many of us are Dragoons." Haschel comments.

"'Dragoon Spirits attract each other, and Dragoons gather as the Dragon Spirits desire, as Soa's fate leads...'" I quote.

"Are we drawn to each other like that? Really?" Dart sounds almost amused.

"It's just folklore." I answer, turning away.

Albert sighs. "Come on, we have to go back and tell King Zior and Princess Emille that we could not get the Moon Dagger back." he starts off.

"He has a crush on Emille." Shana comments, giggling. 

"Aren't we going to pursue Lloyd?" I call, keeping their minds on the mission, and walk off after Albert. One by one, they trail behind. Meru finally stops her dance and runs after us, still grinning. 

We're only missing one now. Kongol's Spirit. He was drawn to us as well. Perhaps he will know where the Spirit is. But I will not ask him. He will find it in his own time.

King Zior did not mind that we could not get the Moon Dagger back.

He, along with all of Fletz, still hailed us as heroes. He said he was going to throw a feast for us tonight.

"Wait until then. I will send the maid for you." Zior says, and the team disbands. 

I wait in the guest room where we had slept before, where Dart and Haschel asked me why I did not laugh. 

I sit on one of the cabinets, thinking. 

King Zior had called us heroes.

I had never been a 'hero' before, or at least, not that I had believed I deserved. But the Sea Dragon had been defeated fairly by us, and that was...a heroic thing to do, I suppose. Though I would not have done it if Dart had not led us.

I still hold a deep sadness and regret in my heart because I have killed the two Dragons Regole and Ferybrand. I had killed them and I knew that they had fought alongside me in the Dragon Campaign, as allies and friends. Been there when the Humans had not understood me.

They had been heroes.

Heroes.

As King Zior had said to us, including me.

"I am...a hero..." I murmur quietly to myself, and then pause. "He would laugh at me..."

I laugh softly, the sound echoing through the empty room.

"!?" 

I surprised even myself. "I...I laughed now... I did laugh..." I pause, taking the deep-violet choker off my neck, holding it in my hand and watching as the Spirit reflected the light from the automatic lamp that had switched on as evening drew close. A close friend of mine had given the choker to me, to hold my Spirit and something else.

"Ever since I have started to wear this choker, I have not laughed for years..." I laugh again, louder, bolder. "It was worth the wait."

Dart walks in. "Here you are."

I jump off the cabinet, wondering if he had heard me laugh. "What is it?"

"The party is starting. Libria is calling us. Are you coming?"

I brush past him, still having my regular attitude, although I know that because I laughed, it will never be the same. I pause at the doorway. "It will be a fun party."

I can feel Dart's puzzled surprise even though I do not look at him.

We find Shana on the balcony. She is blushing as we draw near. I know that she and Dart had been speaking up here, and that something would have happened if Libria had not interrupted. I know he does not look at her as a baby sister anymore, but as a true love. I envy Shana her luck, but I am glad for her.

Albert is with Emille in her room, telling her about the legend of a mermaid, an ancient story passed down only by his family line. Shana is right. Albert is enamored with the blonde princess.

Kongol is in the empty training room, swinging his axe. With every swing, he says a word.

"Kongol...has...friends..." he pauses for a moment, then resumes. "Friends...good."

"Hey, Kongol!" Dart comes up quickly behind the giant.

The Giganto swings the axe blindly at Dart's head. Luckily enough, the warrior ducks before he is decapitated.

"Don't do that." Kongol warns.

"That's what I should be saying!" Dart exclaims, breathless as he picks himself up. "Are you coming to the party? Let's get going."

Meru and Haschel were in the kitchen, bothering the cooks about the food. Dart grabs them, and we head for the room where Libria is waiting, just past the training center.

The room is full of beautiful dresses and accessories from all over Endiness.

"Wow...Seles never had such beautiful dresses." Shana says wistfully.

Libria looks up. "Oh good. You are all here. You need to dress up for the party."

"Dress up?!" Meru backs up. "Uh-uh."

"No way!" Haschel disappears, running off. 

"Not me. I hate dressing up." Dart steps back. 

"I am comfortable in my fighting clothes." I say flatly.

Kongol just frowns.

"It seems none of us are interested in 'dressing up', Libria. Sorry. I am afraid I...um...am needed elsewhere." Albert dashes off quicker than Haschel.

The maid frowns. "But..."

I walk off quickly. My armor never stains, never wrinkles, never tears, never smells, never dirties. It does not need cleaning, so it is the only outfit I ever wear. If for nothing, I go down to a hidden cove by the Midlake near Bale and wash it. But I never wear anything other than it. It reminds me of the events 11,000 years ago.

It is nighttime, and I am on the wide space of the balcony in the Twin Castle in Fletz.

Meru has done what I asked her to, bringing Dart.

"Dart, are you going to stand her up all night?" I demand, pointing. "She has been waiting for you ever since the party started. She's going to freeze. Go talk to her." I shove him in the right direction, watching him stumble. 

Shana is on the balcony. She is only one of us that allowed Libria to dress her up. She is wearing one of the dresses that were hanging in the room, a pale lavender that makes her eyes and piled-up hair seem even softer.

I leave the two of them on the balcony to talk, and wander around the castle, talking to the others, sometimes, but mainly just thinking. 

Albert is talking with Emille. He has not left her ever since the party started. Zior is watching them with amusement, laughing every once in a while. Princess Lisa is talking to Nello the gardener, and Haschel and Meru are bothering about the food. Kongol looks slightly out of place, so I go over and talk to him.

"You're not having a good time?" I ask him.

"Are you?" he replies. He seems to be getting better at proper grammar now. 

I shrug. "I hardly ever do."

"Kongol feel out of place."

"Why is that?"

"Kongol is last Giganto. Last one before extinct. Kongol is alone."

I shrug again. "You told Dart that you had friends. Don't they count?"

"Yes. But Kongol still worried. Kongol out of place."

Maybe now is the time to ask him about the Dragoon. "Then where do you want to be?"

Kongol frowns. "Kongol want to go to Lohan."

"Why?"

He shrugs.

"I will tell Dart in the morning. Perhaps we can take the _Queen Fury_ and make the journey shorter. We are supposed to go to Mille Seseau anyway."

"Thank Rose." Kongol says.

I guess he means thank you. "You're welcome." I turn to the rest of the party, observing for anything out of the ordinary. With nothing else to do, being alert is something to occupy time.

Dart had been slightly surprised when I told him I wanted to go to Lohan, but he had learned to trust me over time, as his life had depended on it, and he obeyed without question, instructing Puler and Kayla to steer across the seas toward the commercial town. 

"Rose?" Dart asks, once we have docked in a cove near a shore by Lohan.

I shake my head. "I need only you and Kongol to come with me. It will not take long." I tell the others. "We will be back before nightfall."

When the _Queen Fury_ is out of sight, Dart looks at me questioningly. "Aren't we supposed to be going to to Mille Seseau?"

"Yes."

"Then why are we going to Lohan, of all places? I thought you hated it, with all the people."

"I do."

"Then why are we going there?"

I shrug. "Ask Kongol."

Even more confused, Dart turns to Kongol.

The Giganto shrugs. "Ask Rose."

"Rose?" Dart sounds stressed.

I shrug again. "Ask Kongol." I repeat, and quicken my pace, setting it faster so that Dart and Kongol must run to catch up.

The green-cloaked merchant on the streets had the Golden Dragon Dragoon Spirit of Earth.

When Kongol stepped near it, the stone began to glow star-like.

The merchant snatched it away. "Here, here! Observe the Shining Miracle Stone! Any sadness or illness will immediately go away by touch!"

__

What an asinine. Making up lines on the spot. I hate merchants.

****

"Only 1000 Gold! Will you buy it?" The merchant asks Dart. 

__

1000 Gold!? I step up to the merchant, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword, ready to draw it out.

Dart stops me with a hand on my arm. "Don't. It's business. That's life." Ruffling in the money pouch he carries, he pulls out a thousand Gold and pays the merchant.

Kongol takes the Golden Dragoon Spirit, tying it around his neck, confused.

I almost feel bad for him. All of the others had gotten their Spirits with a mighty battle or at least with some show. But Kongol just bought his as if it is insignificant. But I know it is not. The Golden Dragon has great physical strength, just like Kongol. As well as honor.

And the Giganto does not seem worried. He is smiling, confused, at the Dragoon Spirit. He does not speak until we get back to the _Queen Fury_.

"So now...all of us are Dragoons?" Albert asks.

"Dragoon Spirits attract each other." I repeat.

"That's right. When I first met you guys, I just felt like I had to go along. And that same feeling has been keeping me with you guys." Meru announces, swinging her right leg back and forth.

"That's right. I felt the same way." Haschel says. 

__

This is getting monotonous. "Come on. We should be getting to Mille Seseau now."


	3. Fate and Soul

ROSE'S STORY: THE DARKNESS DRAGOON

CHAPTER THREE: FATE AND SOUL

"Dart! Dart, look!" Shana gasps in wonder, pointing and jumping up and down like a little girl. 

Most of us had been on the deck, and even I had to raise my eyebrows in surprise when I saw Mille Seseau. I had never approached it at this angle before, even though I had come here many times. 

At this view, Furni, the first city we would dock at, was resting entirely on the water, supporting by piers and docks which reached into the ocean. The houses were elegantly crafted of stone, with open doorways and several small boats to travel around town with. Although looking like hundreds of little dome-shaped houses, the entire city looked enchanting.

Dart climbs up the ladder that leads below deck, and walks over to Shana, sliding an arm around her waist and looking at where she is pointing. 

Furni is drawing closer quickly, and I frown. Something is not right. 

The _Queen Fury_ pulls into the docks, and I am the first one to jump off, sniffing the air. "There is blood here, but…it is not bad." 

Meru looks around. "It's been a long time!"

Haschel comes off the ship after her. "You've been here before?"

The dancer looks around quickly. "Um…y-yeah. I'm really popular, remember?"

"Kongol cross sea first time." The Giganto says, stomping onto solid land. 

"We have to concentrate on finding Lloyd. I wonder why he announced his destination to us?"

Shana and Dart get off together. "I like this place." Shana declares. "It's nice and quiet."

I frown again. _It wasn't like this the last time I came._

As we walk deeper into the town, we see that there are hardly any people on the sidewalks. The streets are all made of water, but the wooden boats are all abandoned. They are all hiding inside. Aside from the five knights arguing on the main sidewalk, there is no sign of life.

The oldest knight, already turning gray, speaks up to the others. "My name is Harris. I've called you all here to help me find a wolf. It used to belong to a little boy named Teo, but recently the wolf Kamuy has become savage and ran off to the Evergreen Forest to join other monsters attackin people."

__

Wolves are wolves. They have to hunt, to eat, to do what they are meant to do. That is how nature works. Monsters are stupid; they don't know what else to do but to feed and sleep.

"Also, Teo has disappeared! I promise a five times larger reward for the one who kills Kamuy! The same goes for the one who finds Teo."

The largest knight carries an axe like Kongol's, only more modern, with a longer handle. This Human is different, hungry for battle, and the promised gold. "It's gonna be me!" he declares. "I'll get the five times larger reward!"

He turns and glares at our group. "I'm going to be the one who gets the reward. Don't ever disturb me!"

__

Wow, I'm frightened. I think sarcastically.

The large knight glares at us. "Are you so frightened and cannot speak?"

__

Yeah, that must be it.

"Bulgus!" Harris calls sharply. "We have to cooperate or we won't be able to defeat Kamuy."

Grumbling something, the knights disappear into a stone building.

Albert studies the shimmering clear water. "We'll need a boat to travel by. The rental shop is over that bridge." He points, and with a swirl of the green cape, begins to walk, pausing for us to catch up. 

The man at the counter is busy fixing something that looks like an oar. "Please hold on a moment." He calls, straining to push something into place, then shoving it away and looking up. "Hello. Oh. Here is the license for the boat."

"What?" Dart asks, clearly surprised.

"The mayor said that the boats are free for the warriors. You are the warriors here to help stop Kamuy, aren't you?"

"No, we're travelers. We just came in from Tiberoa."

"Tiberoa!" The rental shop man's eyes widen. "Did you just arrive in that huge ship?"

Dart nods. "Yeah, that's the _Queen Fury_."

"Wait a minute.!" The owner says, twisting his head so that he can count. "One, two, three... seven! Could this be the Dart and companions that defeated the Sea Dragon at Illisa Bay?"

"I see our fame has spread this far." Haschel says to the rest of us.

In my head I am debating about whether or not I like this new 'fame'. For the past eleven thousand years, I have kept a low profile. The less people who knew about me, the better. If they feared me, even better. Now that they refer to me, as well as the rest of the Dragoons, as heroes, I am slightly bewildered and unsure.

"Wow! Hon, you gotta tell the mayor!" The owner calls to his wife, and she paddles away in a small boat. "Here it is! The license for the boat! Take it!" The owner tosses three keys at us, free of charge. 

I board a boat with Albert and Haschel. Meru rides with Dart and Shana. And because Kongol is so big, he gets his own boat. The boats are moved by oars, not motors, and Haschel and Albert paddle like twin water wheels. I watch in amusement.

"You know, Rose, a little help would be appreciated." Haschel puffs.

I shrug. "You two seem to be doing fine."

The two men exchange a knowing glance, but do not say anything else.

The three boats line up by the docks, which are on every house, of the mayor's house. The seven Dragoons all tumble out, and walk up the stairs to the open door. 

The mayor is inside waiting for us. "Hello. I have been waiting for you! I was pacing all around the house. Here, let me tell you about our current situation." He waves over a little girl of about eight years, with dark hair and dark eyes filled with sadness. "This is…my daughter Fa. She was attacked by Kamuy a few days ago. Then Kamuy ran off into the Evergreen Forest. Not long afterwards, Teo disappeared as well. He probably feels responsible for what happened to Fa. Teo and Fa are best friends. Fa has not spoken one word since Teo left." 

Shana bends down so that she's on eye-level with the little girl. "Hello. Who are you?"

The girl nods but doesn't say anything.

"We are starting a hunt tomorrow morning to find Kamuy." The mayor concludes.

"So…" I purr from my place against the wall. "You are asking for us to cooperate with you on your hunt."

"Well, yes." The mayor seems bewildered. "Of course, I cannot force you. We have a group of warriors. It should be enough." He pauses, and shakes his head. "How inconsiderate of me! I have been talking on and on without asking about you! As an apology, why don't you stay here for the night?"

"…" Dart considers this, then turns and looks at the rest of us. I shrug my consent, and Dart looks at Fa. "Do you like Shana?"

Fa smiles shyly.

"All right. For tonight only." Dart agrees with the mayor. "Thank you."

"Wonderful. Why don't you look around town? By the time you get back, dinner will be ready. Come on, Fa, come help me with dinner."

I do not go very far. I only slip out of the house because I do not want to stay in the house by myself. The others have decide to see the town, and Haschel and Albert offer me the ride, but I decline it, trying to be polite. 

When the boats disappear, I sit outside, which seems to be the dock and the entranceway to the house. 

Looking around, I realize that the water town of Furni is not quite as elegant as I had first thought when we docked. Now the stone houses look small and cramped, and the water streets seem uncomfortable and poor. Instead of the enchanted look I had thought, it carried more of a quaint look of what might have once been poverty.

I suppose everything is like that once you actually see it. I think. Gods, I miss Zieg. I wish he was here so I could talk to him. I have so much I want to say to him.

It seems I spend all my free time thinking. But otherwise, what can I do? I have learned how to block my own thoughts so that my mind is completely blank, and several hours can go by without my feeling bored. But I like to reminisce about the past. It brings me back to the times I can never have again. 

How weak I am. 

The others have not been gone long before they return, which is no surprise because Furni is a small town. When the first boat pulls in, I am standing on the narrow ledge practicing thrusts with my sword. And as they head inside, I go with them. 

Fa and her father have finished preparing the dinner, and we wait for everyone to return before we eat. 

Shana and Meru talk with the mayor throughout the meal, and I listen with half a mind. I hate being social. It's hard to talk to someone after being alone for 11,000 years. I poke at my food a lot, but hardly take a bite. 

It seems a long time before dinner finally ends, and Shana volunteers to help Fa clear the table. The little girl seems to like the Light Dragoon. 

Dart speaks to the mayor about the threat of the wolf Kamuy, and what the knights are going to do about it. Of course, he volunteers us to help. It seems that the monsters in the Evergreen Forest are growing savage. I wonder why that could be.

After a while, Dart climbs up the ladder and up onto the roof to study the Moon That Never Sets.

When night falls, Shana takes Fa upstairs to try and put her to sleep. Although I am downstairs, I can hear Shana humming a tune to the little girl. The lullaby is actually very nice. 

Haschel, who had been half-asleep himself, snaps awake when he hears the tune, and walks up the stairs silently. 

In a few minutes, he is back downstairs with Shana.

"Fa is asleep." Shana calls to the rest of us, even though it is only Albert, Haschel, Shana, and I in the room. The others are already sleeping or talking to the mayor in the guest room.

"Shana, where did you learn that tune?" Haschel asks, and I can detect a note of anxiousness in his voice.

"Isn't it a sweet tune? I learned this from Dart." Shana answers, smiling. "He said his late mother used to sing it to him as a baby."

"What?! It's impossible." Haschel mutters. "My daughter made that song...So, it wasn't a coincidence that I am here after all."

__

And the Claire Bridge wasn't a coincidence either. Dart is Haschel's grandson. But then...why does Dart look so much like Zieg, who in no way looks any bit like Haschel. I have to see what Claire looked like before I can understand any of this. 

"Why? Is something wrong?" Shana asks.

"No. I just need to get some air." Haschel goes down the stairs outside.

"That reminds me." Albert speaks up. "Shana, Dart has been on the roof forever. Why don't you join him?"

The girl leaves the room, to admire the Moon That Never Sets. If only she knew what it actually was, she would not be admiring it. But she is only a Human, and not able to understand.

"So Dart is Haschel's grandson." Albert says. "Counting the ages, it is possible, but they don't anything alike."

I cut him off with a sharp motion of my hand. "I know. You said it before."

__

Dart looks so much like Zieg. Not at all like Haschel.

Not long after Shana has gone upstairs, Meru ducks out of the guest room and follows her, grinning.

__

Silly girl. As if watching others could make you understand love and romance. I watched others for thousands of years and I still don't understand it as much as I had before the Dragon Campaign.

Barely noticing that Albert is starting to nod off, my thoughts turn to my Dragon, Michael.

After the Dragon Campaign, only four of the fourteen members of the team had survived. None of the humans were left alive except for me, and the only Dragons left were Regole, Feyrbrand, and Michael.

I had been seriously rattled by the events of the war, and needed time away from everything to soul search. Michael had come with me, as a friend and as a bodyguard. He had protected me when I was too grief-stricken or unaware to help.

And then he had helped me when he found out the prophecy. For thousands of years, he fought by my side, helping me no matter what. And then...

__

No, don't think about that. I tell myself, forcing my mind to go blank.

I sit over by the window on the countertop, polishing my sword, cleaning the blood and fur off the blade. Albert is awake now, speaking about something, and I reply idly, barely listening.

There is a surge of power, and I snap my head up, looking outside. The darkened clouds that had been partially blocking the Moon That Never Sets have disappeared, and the Moon glows like a giant pearl in the sky, emanating power like never before.

A scream comes from the rooftop. 

Albert jumps off the sofa, and I grab my sword, leaving the sheath behind, running to the stairs.

"Help!" Meru dash down the stairs.

Any other time I would have thought that she was crying 'help' because Dart and Shana were angry with her for spying. But I see the fear in her eyes, the worry and concern.

Not a second later, Dart rushes down the stairs with an unconscious Shana in his arms. 

"What happened?" Albert asks, running over.

"I don't know! She fainted." Dart says.

I walk over and check the girl's pulse. "She's still breathing. Get her somewhere soft."

There was nothing wrong with the town when I observed it, except for that tinge of blood, but that was because of Kamuy. And Shana was on the roof, admiring the moon with Dart. What could possibly have happened to make her faint?

In the morning, Shana is fine, waking up and stretching as if nothing had happened.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dart asks her during breakfast.

"Yes. I'm fine. I don't know what happened." Shana replies, but her spirits seem to be good, and she looks healthy. 

After a short while of silence, Dart speaks, "Harris is expecting to help him hunt down Kamuy. We should leave soon." 

Something changes in Fa's eyes but she remains speechless.

Thanking the mayor for everything, we take the boats to the far northern part of the town, where someone takes the boats back and we travel the journey on foot to the Evergreen Forest. 

Mille Seseau is located on the northern part of Endiness, and is covered with snow. The ice makes the ground look like crystals, and the road has been carefully plowed through the forest. Of all the continents, perhaps this one is my favorite. 

The Forest is large, with a winding maze of paths. I know where each and every one of these paths lead, but I allow Dart to wander around. He seems to know where he is going. But then again, he had lived here in Neet, his hometown that had been burned by the Black Monster eighteen years ago. 

Finally we come to a clearing where a little boy of about ten stands.

"Hello." Dart calls. The little boy looks at him with frightened eyes. "Are you okay?" He starts forward, but before he can reach the boy, the bushes around us explode, and a wolf leaps out to stand protectively beside Teo.

It is not a normal wolf. It is large as two horses, with white and gray fur and glimmering yellow eyes with a savage light in them.

"Teo!" The resident knight Harris appears beside us. "Get away from Kamuy! He's different; you can't help him anymore!"

"No don't hurt him!" Teo yells. "Kamuy's good! He didn't attack Fa! He was trying to protect her! It was another monster that attacked Fa!" 

"There's the wolf." The large knight with the giant axe growls. 

"Everyone surround it!" Harris orders. 

"No, don't hurt Kamuy!" Teo screams. 

The wolf is already moving. He snarls at the knights, and moves in a swift fluid circle, knocking down those that get near to him. Bending down, he pushes his snout under Teo and flings the little boy onto his furry back.

Growling, Kamuy runs off with Teo hanging on. 

"Come on, we have to follow it!" Harris rushes off after them.

At times like this, my adrenaline and bloodlust rises high, and I race after without even knowing or caring if the others are behind me. 

After a few minutes, it is our group that finds Kamuy and Teo, in a small grove of large trees. 

Teo notices us. "Go away!" he commands, determination in his young eyes. 

"Teo, you have to go back. Fa's worried about you. She really cares about you." Shana says.

The little boy pauses. "Fa's worried about me?" he pauses and shakes his head. "But what about Kamuy? He's gonna be killed if I don't protect him!"

Harris apepars again. "Teo, leave Kamuy!" 

The large knight starts forward, and glares at us. "You pretended not to be interested, but what you wanted was the reward, huh? Well, forget it! The five times reward is mine!"

Kamuy allows him to get close before flicking one snow-white paw and knocking the knight out.

Pathetic... I think.

We have no choice. We had to engage Kamuy in combat. 

The fight was short but fierce. Kamuy was a large wolf with a lot of fight in him, but no match for seven Dragoons that had been through too much already. 

I can't help but wonder why the animals have been getting savage. Monsters were usually stupid creatures that attacked for no reason, and with little skill as well.

After the fight, Teo knelt down by his pet wolf, crying. "Kamuy..." he moans, crying. His face is buried in the fur.

Shana shifts awkwardly. "Maybe I can help him." She says softly, brushing Teo aside gently to kneel beside the dying wolf. Holding her pendant high, she calls out in a sweet voice, "White Silver Dragon... Please, save... Kamuy!" 

For a moment I am in awe. The silvery-white light fills and surrounds both the wolf and Shana. In the illumination, her eyes closed and her sweet face locked in prayer, she looks so much like an angel. I do not think that even Shirley, with all her grace and beauty, ever looked like this.

When the light fades away, Kamuy is the size of a puppy, frisking about Teo's ankles and yipping.

"Kamuy's back to normal again!" Teo cries joyfully, picking up his pet. 

Shana smiles and walks back to us. 

Harris scratches his head. "Well, I suppose that since Kamuy no longer poses a threat, we don't have to kill him. Let's return to the town, Teo. Fa's worried." 

On his way past us, Harris nods gratefully. "Thank you for your help."

"We should head for the next town here." Dart says. "It's the capital of Mille Seseau, Deningrad."

I follow at the end of the party with Dart leading to the capital city. Along the way, Haschel pauses and stares at another pathway, with a knight guarding it. "Dart, what's that way?"

Our leader stops and turns around. "I dunno. I just remember that we were never allowed through there."

"It's the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon. It's dangerous there." I say a bit quickly. "Let's continue to Deningrad." 

But as we head down the sloping snow-covered path, Meru slows her pace and tries to sneak into the undergrowth.

Dart, of course, notices. "Meru? What are you doing?" 

The platinum beauty pauses and turns around. "I just remembered I needed to do something. You guys go ahead."

"What do you have to do?"

"I want to see my parents."

"Oh, well why didn't you say that?" Haschel asks. "I will miss you, Meru."

"I won't be gone too long." Meru replies without missing a beat. It is almost comical how they speak to each other, with the difference in their ages.

But while the party continues on, I pause on a path that I recognize. 

Dart turns back. "Rose? What's up?"

"Please go on. I remember I have some errand to do." I speak the half-truth. "I'll catch up with you soon. Look for Lloyd in the meantime." 

Not wanting them to ask me what my errand is, as they had done to Meru, I slide halfway down a canyon wall and then leap onto the path on the other side. 

I can hear Haschel speaking as I walk off, "She is mysterious, as always."

I walk through the snow fields without shivering. 

__

I need to do this. To see. 

I stop when I reach my destination. The stench of acrid long-gone smoke and burnt bodies still lingers in the air, and no one has bothered to clean up the town.

The burned village of Neet.

The buildings are all destroyed, long since crumbled, piles of rubble and metal and stone everywhere. A lampost is halfway to falling. It seems more of a garbage heap than a town. But no one has lived here for eighteen years.

Nothing has changed.

I begin to move past the entrance gate, but pause. 

__

Am I hesitating? I chide myself. _It's silly. There is a reality I must face._

Steeling myself, I move forward past the rubble to see what has happened. I need to see all the devastation.

"Mother..."

__

???? I pause, my hand gripping my sword.

But the voice had been gentle, lamenting. I remove my hand from the hilt of my sword, and walk further on. 

There is a woman kneeling with her back to me in the snow, barely older than I am. She is dressed in baggy violet pants and a cropped black shirt. Her black shoes look like an elf's and her hair is dark under the violet veil that she has around her head. Next to her stands a younger girl, with blonde hair in braids under a blue cap, and wide eyes. Around them stand three guards as bodyguards.

I listen to the dark-haired woman speak to the tombstone in front of her. I know that the tombstone has the names of everyone that had been lost in Neet carved on it. This girl must be here to pay her respects.

"Mother, it's been a while. Since the tragic day I lost my sight. I am able to see today thanks to the love of people like Setie here. May the Divine Tree bless all the victims of the tragedy."

Silently I move forward.

Although I had made no sound, the dark-haired woman spins on one knee. "Who is it?" She demands, crying out.

Her eyes are blue-lavender, and empty and blank. She is blind. 

The three knights run forward, all pointing their swords at me.

I hold my hands palms outward. 

"I didn't mean to surprise you. I am just a traveler, please don't be surprised."

Although she is blind, the dark-haired woman seems to know exactly where I am. "There are people here of Neet. Are you here to visit someone?"

Her question makes me squirm internally. "I guess."

"Then you know about Neet?" The woman asks. "My mother was killed in the accident. I was spared for some reason. It is a miracle that I survived. It is probably because I am blind."

__

I remember...whoever that didn't see what happened needn't die. So... there was another survivor other than Dart. I wonder if he will be pleased or depressed to hear this news?

"I am Luanna, second Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau." The woman introduces herself. "And this is Setie, the fourth Sister."

I remember that Mille Seseau has four Sacred Sister to assist the Queen Theresa. All of them are loyal and have their own talents. They are also very beautiful, and are obeyed like princesses, although their job is to teach love and kindness, almost like a priestess. The Sister Wink that I had seen so briefly in Donau had been one of them.

"I still remember that day eighteen years ago…" Luanna says quietly. "I was blind. I could not see. I felt my mother taking my hand, dragging me to the barn. We hid in the hay, but the Black Monster still found us. He asked my mother where Princess Louvia had gone. My mother was crying, but she was brave. She demanded to know what the Black Monster was so evil. The Black Monster then threatened to kill me. My mother gave in, and told him that the Princess was heading for the coast. 

"The Black Monster said that all who had seen the Moon Child as she passed through needed to be killed. It was so hot…I felt my skin burning. And then my mother's hand went limp. I remember groping for her, screaming. And then I felt the Black Monster leave, and there was silence."

"I see. So you survived."

The young woman shakes her head. "It is a miracle. But the gods have bestowed upon me a different gift."

"Sister Luanna may not be able to see with her eyes, but she can see into people's souls!" Setie says excitedly. She is a pretty girl, dressed in the colorful clothes of the royalty of Mille Seseau, but young. "And because of that, Sister Luanna suffers from other people's suffering."

Immediately I block my mind so that she cannot read it.

"I heal people's souls." Luanna says modestly. "If you need help healing the pain in your heart, I can help."

I turn my face for a moment. "No thank you." _Nothing could ever heal this pain that I carry within me._

"Are you done here?" I ask.

"Yes, I am returning to Deningrad."

"May I join? I know you have knights but the monsters in the Forest are tough. You will need protection." 

The knights glare at me.

"Thank you for your help." With Setie's hand on her arm, Luanna walks past me out of Neet. The guards follow. 

I was right. They did need my help.

The knights were good fighters, but not good enough. Growling my rage, I slash away a Moss Dresser, and in the meanwhile am attacked by a Wounded Bear. Years ago I could have handled them with ease. Now it is different, and the monsters are much stronger. Part of me fills with bloodlust, anxious for a good battle. Another part of me is mildly surprised at how strong these monsters have gotten.

"You are hurt." Luanna says, her empty eyes turned toward me. It is because of her powers of the mind that she can know exactly where I am, and my condition as well.

"It is nothing. It will heal." I reply, but I accept when she offers to bandage the wound on my arm for me, kneeling down next to her. 

Luanna's hands are gentle as she winds the white guaze around the gash in my forearm. 

When she finishes, she looks at me with those blank blue-lavender eyes. "You suffer, Rose, very greatly."

For a moment I am afraid that she knows. "Does not everyone?" I say, standing up again, shielding my mind.

"Yes." She answers gravely. "Let us be on our way."

When we get to the capital city, I pause for a moment to absorb its awe. 

Deningrad is perhaps the most beautiful city on the entire planet of Endiness. The streets are carefully paved with cobblestone, very clean. The houses are made of wood and painted very nicely. The snow on the roofs and streets give it a cozy look. The giant building on the right is the temple, and the even larger building on the left is the National Library that is reknowned all through the world. No doubt Albert, with his lust for knowledge, had been very excited to see it. 

And then of course, there was the Crystal Palace, where the Queen lived.

The Crystal Palace was made entirely of a rare shimmering blue-green jewel, carved in the shape of several pinnacles stretching up to the sky. The very sight of it was breathtaking, even for me, I who have seen almost everything in the world in my 11,000 years.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Luanna asks softly.

"Yes, it is." I reply, and then feel slightly guilty, an emotion familiar and yet unfamiliar to me. "I am sorry."

"It is no matter. Setie has described it to me. As long as I can live in it, I do not care what it looks like. It is my home." The woman answers. 

"Rose!" Someone yells my name.

I turn to see Dart and the others, even Meru, running toward us. I must have taken longer than I had expected to. It seems that around Luanna, my senses seem toyed with. 

I nod once in acknowledgement to him. "Did you find out anything about Lloyd?"

"No, nothing important." Dart's eyes shift to the others, the two women and the three knights.

"Rose, who are they? Do you know them?"

I turn slightly. "I just happened to...meet them... This is Luanna and Setie, two of the Sacred Sisters of Mille Seseau."

Setie smiles and Luanna bows slightly. "Excuse me, but you have gone through some recent changes in your body."

Dart frowns at her. "What do you mean?"

"Sister Luanna!" A villager runs up behind us. "Thank you, Sister Luanna. Thanks to you, I can go outside again."

Luanna smiles. "That is what we, the Sacred Sisters, are for. You don't need to thank me."

Albert walks up to the dark-haired Sister. "I would like to speak to you. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

After a few minutes, we are settled in a waiting room of the inn. 

"Do you remember anything at all?" Dart asks Luanna.

"All I remember is the sound of terror." Luanna responds. "I'm sorry. I cannot help you."

"That's all right. Just knowing that there is another survivor brings me hope that one day my journey will lead to the Black Monster."

"Um…Sister Luanna…" Setie speaks up. "What about Mr. Dart's health?"

"That's right." Luanna turns her sightless eyes toward Dart. "I feel that you people have incredible power. Beyond the power of Humans. But…there is also a stronger entity, one that has influence over your power." She smiles. "I'm apologize if I only confused you further."

Dart puts his head in his hands. For a moment, I believe that he has a headache, because he does not want to be reminded that he is not fully human. But I realize that his face is twisted in pain.

A slight nudging appears in the back of my mind as well. I frown at it. The nudging bursts into an agonizing pain, and I stumble once, leaning against the wall to seem as if nothing is wrong. 

I hear voices in my head.

__

War is not in human nature. Humans fight by making themselves enter insanity.

These words seem familiar.

__

It is...the same for revenge. This is a tool to amplify the insanity. And this insanity is the source of the power of Dragoons, the Dragon Knight.

Someday something will happen, and is you cannot chasten your insanity I wonder if you will be able to endure it given the meagerness of your spirit?

I had said these words to Dart, on the _Queen Fury_.

Dart straightens, lifting his head and blinking several times. "I'm sorry. I didn't feel well for a moment."

"I felt something too." Luanna confirms. "Something...strange. Something full of hate."

"Luanna, what did you mean about the unusualness of my body?" Dart asks the dark woman sitting on the sofa.

"I sense that there is something strange about you, all of you. You carry around a power than normal humans do not have." 

"That's right." Dart holds up his pendant, and it glows fire-red. All seven Dragoons will on the power, and the room lights up with the different colors. When Dart puts his away, as do the rest of us.

"What was that?" Setie breathes in awe, staring at each one of us.

"The power of Dragoons." Dart answers. "The Dragon Knights from the Dragon Campaign. We were not alive back then, but we inherited the powers."

__

Maybe you had not been alive then, Dart, but I sure was.

"That is the power that I felt from you." Luanna says. Her blank eyes seem even more far off than before.

The ground begins to shake. A vase on the little table next to me rattles off the edge and breaks to pieces on the polished wooden floor. The paintings on the walls tremble, and the people are thrown around. 

A shadow passes outside the window, and the shaking stops, or at least lessens.

"What happened?" Luanna is saying again and again. Setie helps her to her feet.

Unsheathing my sword, I race out the door, and tilt my head upward to see the long slender grayness of a Dragon.

__

Oh no! 

The Divine Dragon. The King of the Dragons has broken out of the chains that the Winglies had set it in thousands of years ago. But...that's not possible. The Divine Dragon has been resting peacefully up until now, and the chains were strong. Someone must have interfered, cast a spell to anger the Dragon and weaken the chains somehow. But who would be as foolish as that? Who would be that stupid?

"What is that thing?" Shana yells, gesturing up as if anyone could have missed it. The Dragon is larger than a cloud, but much faster. It drifts over Deningrad with a strong wind that knocks over loose objects and strews rubble around. 

When everything quiets down, the people of Deningrad is screaming and whispering at the same time, running around as if to search for shelter too late.

"What was that?" Dart asks with a strange tone in his voice, sheathing his sword. "I thought all the Dragons were dead."

"The seven elemental ones are dead." I answer carefully, gripping the hilt of my sword tighter. "But there is still the Divine Dragon, the king of dragons. There is a prophecy that goes with it. 'One who glares through seven diabolical eyes and who crosses the sky with seven wings. The king of Dragons sealed by the long gone Winglies rests in the ground of Mille Seseau. Once it awakens again, it shall bring terror to the world.' It had been sealed in the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon, but it must have broken loose."

"I...I think I felt it arrive." Dart says, putting one hand to his forehead. "I...felt something back in the room."

"As did I." I answer.

Albert turns from studying the sky. "I think I did too."

"We have to tell Queen Theresa about this." Luanna says, turning and stumbling. Setie is there immediately, steadying her. "Follow me to the Crystal Palace."

Luanna and Setie led us to the throne room, where the Queen sits. The Crystal Palace is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. The outer rooms' walls are still carved of the crystals, and the furniture and carpeting are of the very best, decorated in the finest silks and wool. But it is not gaudy, as most royalty tend to have their castles or palaces decorated in gold and silver. The Crystal Palace holds a sheer elegance and serenity that makes me feel almost calm and at peace. 

Almost.

"Wow..." Shana breathes, as she looks around the hallways and corridors. Meru's eyes are wide, but she cannot find any words. It is not surprising that they are amazed. 

"Sister Wink!" Setie exclaims, running up to embrace another woman.

This woman is older than her, but still young and beautiful. She is wearing a dark ruby skirt, straight and long to her ankles, and a dark navy cardigan. The darkness in her clothing harmonizes with her pale creamy skin. Her fine hair is the exact color of yellow, not one shade darker or lighter. Her eyes are wide and brown, and she is smiling. She seems to carry peace and love with her. "Hello, Setie. Luanna." Her voice is melodious. "Who are these people?"

Luanna introduces us. "They are here to help us fight the Dragon."

Wink stares at each one of us with wide eyes. "You are all very brave. I would never have the courage to even dream of fighting the Dragon."

Setie starts speaking rapidly. "Sister Wink was attacked by bandits a few weeks ago, and she was saved. Now she's in love with her savior, even though she doesn't know where he lives or even his name."

"I know his name." Wink retorts, color rising to her cheeks.

"Then what is it?"

Wink blushes even deeper. "I can't tell you. It's a beautiful name though."

I grimace with my face but smile with my mind. I understand what it is like to be in love, and Wink was just like I had been 11,000 years ago. But hopefully, her love will succeed.

Telling us that we must hurry, Luanna leads us further along the throne room.

As we approach the throne room, I can hear yelling.

"Basing your strategy on an assumption of the enemy?! You would expose your men to such danger?!" There is a slapping sound, and as I reach the top of the stairs, I see a knight fall to his back. "You are dismissed, captain of the knights."

The knight gets up. "Yes, ma'am!" he ducks past us. 

"You are too harsh, Miranda." The Queen says. She is dressed in green ceremonial robes, with a plain but beautiful headpiece over her dark hair. Her skin seems to be almost...blue-tinged, and her eyes are a deep violet.

"He was incompetent." The woman who had slapped the guard replies. 

She is tall and very pretty, with waving blonde hair falling softly around her shoulders. She wears thigh high brown leather boots and white shorts that look like a skirt. A long sleeved white tunic with a brown leather vest. She seems almost medieval, and her outfit is almost identical to mine. On her back is a quiver of arrows, and in her right hand is a silver bow. She looks just like any modern-day woman, almost gentle, but she is fierce and harsh. 

"That is Miranda, the First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau." Setie whispers. "She's tough." 

"Luanna, Setie, you have returned." Queen Theresa says, and we walk into the throne room. "But who are these?"

Luanna introduces us one by one. 

"You are warriors. The bloodstained armor tells it all." The Queen says quietly.

Dart replies, "We are here to help you against the Divine Dragon."

Miranda smirks. "You seven would help us against the Dragon?" She seems to be a fighter, and with an attitude. 

Ignoring her, I turn back to the Queen.

She is regarding the seven of us with deep eyes that stretch on forever. "I feel that there is more to you warriors than meets the eye. What are you?"

"We're not regular humans." Dart says. 

Making the story sound captivating, the other six Dragoons take turns telling the tale of what has happened, how each one of us is a Dragoon and the Dragons that we have faced before. They tell her everything from when Dart rescued Shana from Hellena Prison, to Lavitz being killed, to stopping Kamuy and then ending up here.

"I see. So you are the legendary Dragoons of the past." The queen says softly.

__

They were not the original ones. Dragoon Spirits find new masters. I am the only original one here. But I cannot tell the others that.

Finally Dart sums it up, "We will help if you will have us."

"We are grateful for your help." Queen Theresa says. "Do you know what is going on?"

I step forward. "The Divine Dragon broke out of the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon, after 11,000 years of sleep. No wonder he is cranky."

"It is very powerful."

"It is the King of Dragons. But there was no way to destroy it, so the Winglies sealed it up in the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon, where they hoped that it would stay for the rest of eternity. But it appears that after thousands of years, the Divine Dragon has woken up."

"You mean that there is no way to stop it?"

I pause. "It is said that Winglies made weapons to kill Dragons."

There is a gasping sound, and I turn around. Meru has taken a step back, her hand flying to her mouth. Her liquid brown eyes are wide. "W-what? How do you know about that, Rose?" She pauses, as if realizing a mistake. She looks around and then drops her head. "Oops. I didn't say anything."

"May we ask for your help to stop the Dragon?" Queen Theresa asks.

Dart bows slightly. "You are free to ask."

"What are the weapons that can stop the Dragon?"

"There are two weapons." I say, turning the subject back to how to stop the Divine Dragon. "One is the Dragon Buster, which can kill Dragons. But that weapon is currently in the hands of someone else. So we have no other choice but to rely on the other weapon. The Dragon Block Staff, which blocks Dragons' powers."

"Where is it?" the Queen asks me.

"I was going to ask you," I shrug. "But it seems one of us already knew about it. Meru?" I turn around to look at her.

The dancer steps back again. "W-What are you talking about?"

"You seem to know what is going on. Do you know where the Dragon Block Staff is?"

She squirms under everyone's gaze. "I'm not saying anything...but, I have a feeling...I think...I think it might be in the Forest of Winglies!" She blurts out, almost painfully.

"Forest of Winglies?" Everyone echoes.

"It's in Evergreen Forest. I can show you the way." Meru seems resigned and tired, as if she is admitting defeat to something.

"I will come with you." Miranda declares firmly, leaving no room for argument. "I must make sure that everything goes correctly." Her right foot is tapping impatiently, and she has one hand on her hip, eager to start. 

"Please return quickly." The queen says, standing up and nodding formally in thanks.

It is when the party reaches the entrance that Albert pauses. "Please wait. I don't see Shana."

Dart stops and looks around. Indeed the brown-haired girl is missing. "Where did she go?"

"Oh great." Miranda says sarcastically. "Now we have to waste time looking for her. Let's go. Hurry up." She brushes past us back to the throne room.

Albert and Haschel laugh. "She's a lot like you, Rose."

I am insulted; I do not like the blonde woman. "How?"

"You two are like mirror images of each other! You're both very harsh, and look, you're even practically dressed alike, only you're darkness, and she's more of a light." 

Ignoring them, I walk back to the throne room. I really don't like Miranda.

Shana is in a room adjoining to the throne room, kneeling, her hands clasped together, her eyes closed. A white light thrums through the room, although it does not come from her. She seems to almost be asleep.

"Shana?" Dart calls.

The girl does not move.

"Shana? Shana!" Dart kneels down in front of her and shakes her until she awakens. Her eyes snap open and she gasps.

"Dart? Where am I?" Shana asks, looking around. "How did I get here?"

"We were going to ask you."

"I don't know. When I woke up I was here."

"Miranda," Dart gestures. "What is this room used for?"

The blonde woman steps forward. "I heard that this Palace used to be a fort for Winglies. This room was used to seal something."

"Perhaps that is why the Divine Dragon is attacking Deningrad." I say. "He is trying to work off some of the hatred he feels for humans." 

"Ah..." Shana groans, crouching slightly, her hands over her ears. "Ahh...my body...it's burning..." she wails. 

"Shana?!"

"I can't..."

With a surge of power, the silver-white pendant lifts off her neck and rises high into the air with a shrilling whistle, and lowers itself around the pale throat of the First Sacred Sister, Miranda.

__

Well that was quick.

But I frown. Dragoon Spirits only leave their masters on three accounts: if their master is dead, or if they feel that the master is unworthy, or if they have found a better master.

"What?!" Miranda sounds enraged. "What is this?"

"I cannot manage it. I don't feel the power of the Light Dragon anymore." Shana whispers.

"You're a Dragoon too?" Dart asks Miranda.

"Me?! I'm a Dragoon now? One of you?"

"Dragoon Spirits manipulate Fate." I muse. "Hmm..."

Shana swoons, groaning. Without a sound, her legs crumble beneath her, and she faints. Dart manages to catch her before her head hits the marble floor. Worried and slightly angry, he carries her to a guest bedroom.

Shana wakes up in a few minutes. 

"Are you okay?" Dart asks her.

"Yes," She replies, and hesitates. "But...I don't think...I can go with you anymore. I want to...stay here and...rest." 

"Good. Get some rest." Dart smoothes the hair on her forehead. "We'll defeat the Dragon."

The party starts out of the room, and I hear Shana calling for Miranda, saying, "Miranda...please take care of the rest." 

"I will."

As we leave Deningrad, I think about what has happened. 

I am not sure whether or not I want Miranda to be one of us. She is more powerful than Shana is, and no doubt will be a better Dragoon, but...I somehow dislike her. Not distrust, but... I have never thought about it before, when the others join, but this time I don't like her. She is annoying in her forthright criticizing way, and she carries herself with a dangerous aura. She obviously does not like me either. Just as well.

A little part of my mind snickers at me. She's just like you.

Silently, Meru leads the party through the paths of the Evergreen Forest. But instead of following the plowed-out dirt roads, she skims through the forest, making the others struggle to keep up.

Miranda does not complain. She pushes her way past the branches that drop into her face, snarling curses. Her pride is important to her.

Meru seems to be nervous about something, and at last she leads us to a dark clearing with a dead end. The trees' leaves are so thickly woven that no sunshine filters through.

"Meru, is this a dead end?" Dart asks, brushing the leaves off his red armor.

"Here we are at the entrance to the Forest of Winglies. Maybe I'll be kicked out again." The dancer shakes her head. 

"Where is the entrance? I can't see anything." Dart complains.

"There's a magical boundary between the two worlds. Some of the Winglies are still angry about the Dragon Campaign so they locked themselves up." Meru takes a deep breath.

With a sound like a blade slashing into the night, Meru's shoulder blades enlargen into shimmering crystal wings, like shafts of moonlight. 

"Meru!" Dart is standing shocked. "Are you a..."

"Yep." Meru nods, grinning, as if relieved that her secret is told. "I'm a Wingly." 

__

Of course, the platinum hair, the personal pity toward Lenus, the strange energy signature.

Meru stands in front of the dead end, arms akimbo. She seems to be summoning up her power. And with it, the dead end suddenly flares to life, and the wall of trees is now a portal of a sort, shimmering blue.

She turns around to smile at us, shyly and nervously. "In you go." 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Miranda asks, not harshly.

Meru looks at us all with a straight face, none of her usual perkiness or joking in her eyes. "Would you believe me if I told you? Would you still consider me a friend?"

Dart makes a gesture with his hands. "It doesn't matter. Meru is Meru, right? …Now let's go into the Forest of Winglies. We are dealing with serious stuff now."

__

Only now do you realize it. I say in my mind.

Meru leaps through the portal, and we all follow. It feels like walking through a waterfall. 

On the other side is a quiet forest, with stone pathways and a giant wooden house, where the Winglies probably are. I guess that there are only about fifteen to twenty Winglies in this village. 

It is actually a nice place. I suppose that after 11,000 years, the Winglies get to do some redecorating. Somehow sunlight lightens the village, and there is an open sky above, but I know that if I transformed to Dragoon mode and flew above, I would not be able to see it.

The three guards at the entrance stand up. "What?! Humans!?"

"I'll go warn the Ancestor." The third one flies off, the wings like shafts of light.

"Meru! How dare you return here with humans!" The second guard has something in his hands, a shining sphere of an pale blue color. An energy sphere, a weapon. It does not attack physically; it leaves no wound except maybe a burn mark, but it attacks the body's reserved energies, draining you weaker until you finally die. The ancient Winglies had had the exact same weapon. I remember being struck by one. I had screamed at the pain, and had to temporarily withdraw out of battle so that Shirley could heal me. 

And if a human got struck by one, it would be instant death. But...we are...not humans anymore, are we?

"Wait!" Meru holds up her hands, waving them frantically in protest. She is obviously unwelcome here, probably because she left the village, which is against their rules. "Don't shoot! They are my friends!"

"We don't want to fight!" Dart yells. "We only want to borrow the Dragon Block Staff!"

"What? How did you know about the Dragon Block Staff?"

Miranda walks up to Dart. "Should we break through?"

He turns to her with a stern face, as he often did to me when I was going to kill someone. "No we should not." He replies through clenched teeth. No doubt having one impulsive bloodlust female on his team was enough. Now he has to deal with two who are obviously not friends.

"The Dragon is awake! We have to stop it or everything will be destroyed! Including the Forest of Winglies!"

"What can Humans do if they have no magic?"

The third Wingly flies back. "Everyone hold on! The Ancestor says that he will see the humans."

The other two Winglies grumble, but they allow us to pass through to the teleporter that will take us further in.

It is a small round circle, and when I am transported, it makes all the blood rush to my head and make me momentarily dizzy. It only teleports one or two people at a time. I had been on a teleporter pod only several times in my past, but that had been thousands of years ago.

As we walk into the village, many of the Winglies stop what they are doing to stare at us. Some of them shy away in fear, some of them growl in anger, and some stare in open awe. But none of them attack us, as the Ancestor himself has said he will see us.

"Some of the Winglies hate humans after the Dragon Campaign," Meru whispers. "And some of them are afraid of Humans. But some of them want to go out into the world again. That's what I did. They don't like me anymore, cuz leaving the village is against their dumb laws."

A younger Wingly stands at the base of the wooden house. The entrance is about twenty meters up. There is no way to jump up there; Winglies get in by their wings.

"You will need to get up there." The Wingly says. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"Yes please." Dart answers.

One by one the Wingly brings us up. It feels strange to float up in the air without beating my own wings. It feels almost like levitation. 

Out of politeness and slight bewilderment, I thank the Wingly, and duck into the house. 

Inside is illuminated in pale green glow. Meru leads the way again, into a section where an older male and female Wingly stand.

"Mother! Father! I'm home!" She says. 

"Meru!" Her mother seems surprised, and starts to move forward before the male speaks.

"Meru, do you realize what you are doing?" he asks angrily, and then notices us. "So these are the Humans who have deluded you."

"Don't talk badly about my friends!" Meru exclaims. "I want to save the Forest my own way! With Dart and his friends!"

The female speaks to her husband. "The Ancestor trusts them and is letting them through the border. You should trust your own daughter as well."

Meru looks crushed. "Father, humans aren't as horrible as everyone says. There are some bad humans, but that doesn't mean that all humans are bad! These are my friends." 

Her father turns away, and I cannot help but notice wetness gathering in Meru's eyes. 

"Meru, your father acts as if he is not happy to see you healthy and well, but he is indeed happy to see your face." Her mother embraces her. 

"Humans over there." Meru's father says. "Dragons are your allies. Why do you fight with us, the Winglies who you once fought?"

Dart shakes his head tiredly. "The Dragon Campaign has been over for more than 10,000 years. Besides, if the Divine Dragon is not stopped, both Humans and Winglies will be destroyed."

"Please take care of Meru." The woman says.

"I have been taking care of them!" Meru says indignantly.

__

More likely the other way around.

As Meru begins to leave, her father speaks without looking at her. "Your mother is right. I am happy to see your face. You've changed a lot. You've grown." 

"Of course I have, Father. I am your only daughter. I...I think a lot!" Meru giggles. "I have to speak with the Ancestor." 

When she leaves that section, she directs us toward another teleporter pod that leads up into a room with several Winglies fussing over something electronical. 

Without speaking, the platinum-haired Wingly of our team jumps onto another teleporter, and we follow her to a small dark room with a table and two bookshelves and a Wingly sulking at a cabinet.

The Wingly male turns around and a smile lights his face. He is a male around the age of Meru, and he seems friendly. He, like all the other Winglies, is dressed in a gray robe with a scarlet cap over his platinum hair. His eyes are liquid brown and they hold a strange emotion as he looks at Meru. 

"Meru, I knew it! You are coming back to me!" His eyes shift quickly to the rest of us and he takes a step back. "You are Humans! …So you are the friends Meru has?"

"That's right." Meru nods pointedly, as if this is an old argument. "This is Guaraha, a friend of mine."

"You said I am just your friend?!" Guaraha echoes in disbelief.

"Um…we grew up together?" 

"Meru, you are my fiancée!" 

Dart smiles slightly. "I didn't know you have a fiancé, Meru."

"There is more to you than I thought, Meru." Haschel says.

"Wow! What are you talking about?" Meru waves her hands frantically.

"I thought she was just a kid." Miranda comments, drawing the attention to her. She has that effect on people. Staying quiet for a while, and then speaking so that every head turns toward her. "Hmm. It must be true that the Winglies have a long life and they are not as young as they look."

"What are you analyzing me for?!" Meru screeches.

"What kind of relationship do you have with Meru?!" Guaraha demands, stepping forward menacingly.

"Relationship?" Dart echoes with a hint of a laugh. "We are just friends."

"At first she insisted on following us." Haschel informs.

"Is that so?" Miranda asks, purring.

"We have no time to talk about that!" Meru says quickly. "Guaraha, why are you cooping yourself up in here!? There are awful things going on outside!!"

"As the Ancestor told us the Divine Dragon has come back to life, hasn't it?" Guaraha says dejectedly.

"Why aren't you defending the forest?" Meru demands.

"The other day I let you in the forest, Meru. I'm on probation now. Of course I would defend the forest if I could." Guaraha says wistfully. Anyone can see that he really does love Meru.

"Whatever!!" Meru says. "We are going to see he Ancestor. You just stay here and be gloomy!"

"Meru, you have changed."

"You can be changed too if you go outside, Guaraha."

Guaraha looks down at the floor. "I…there is a commandment for us Winglies. We cannot do what you want us to do, Meru."

"Yes you can." Meru says sharply. She has spoken of this to him before.

"…"

We leave Guaraha's room, back to where the other Winglies were observing a machine. This visit no doubt has an emotional effect on Meru, but she is trying very honorably not to show it. Perhaps she is not the empty-headed little ditz I thought she was.

"This one." Meru points to another teleporter.

"Is this the way to the Ancestor?" Dart asks, walking onto it.

"No. I'm taking you on a tour first. Get on." 

This teleporter leads to a small room with a locked door at the end. Meru walks up to it and places her hand on it. The door slides open to reveal a woman with six wings and six hands, dressed in a modest beige toga, with a golden circlet adorning her brown hair. Her eyes are closed, and she seems to be in hibernation.

"That's the Archangel." Meru explains. "She's like someone who the Winglies worship. A goddess...I think."

"Don't you worship her, Meru?" Albert asks.

Meru shrugs. "I dunno. All right, tour's over! Let's go see the Ancestor!" 

Finally she leads us through a series of teleporters and we end up in a small circular room with a pale rosy glow. The walls have a pattern of strange ridges, and there is another teleporter at the end of the room.

"Humans are not welcome here!" A new voice declares angrily, and a Wingly appears, teleporting, appearing out of nowhere. They had been able to do that in the past, but now their powers are fading. 

"Bardel!" Meru yells. "Are you here to make trouble?" 

"Meru, how dare you come back here after what you have done?" The Wingly accuses. "You left the village of your own accord. You are not welcome here anymore! Because of you my baby sister was killed!"

"What?! Bardel-"

"You were always like a role model to her. She followed you everywhere. When she heard that you left the village, she did the same. She went into the humans' world, and they killed her. It was because of you that she was killed!"

"Oh my God! I didn't know. Bardel, I'm sorry." 

"Sorry doesn't bring my baby sister back! Because of what happened, I vowed that I would get rid of the humans. That one day I would go into the human world and annihilate them all! I will show them the true strength of the Winglies!"

__

How old-fashioned. Maybe 11,000 years ago that would have frightened me, but not now. You lost the war, Wingly, and you can't change that.

Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I walk up to him, to where he hovers in the air. My voice is harsh and condescending. "You are strong, huh? Don't make me laugh. I wonder if you have noticed that you are declining because you cling to the glory of the past? You can barely fly and that's about it, right?" 

Bardel is obviously very angry with me. "Maybe you won't think so after this!" 

Although his words were aimed at me, the energy sphere he created in his hands was launched at Dart.

Quick as thought, the Fire Dragoon transformed, and raised his arms to block. The energy sphere collided harmlessly with the legendary armor, not leaving a mark. 

Bardel's jaw drops open. "Is this...is this the power of the legendary Dragoon?!" his wings fail him, shrinking back inside his shoulder blades, and he crumbles to the ground, shaking. He wants something so bad that he can almost taste it and yet not receive it, and still wants it. "It's impossible..."

Meru's voice is gentle and sincere. "Bardel, when everything is over, they I will come back and resolve the issue of your sister. But please trust us for now."

I have a severe distaste for these Winglies. Meru and Guaraha and the Wingly who carried me up to the wooden house are acceptable, but in initial reaction, I hate the Winglies with a loathing deep within me. But then again, of course. I had fought the greatest war against them 11,000 years ago, and it was them who had killed my friends, Human and Dragon alike. It was their emperor, Melbu Frahma, that had torn Zieg from me forever.

"The ones who flaunt their power disappear when the truly powerful appear." I tell Bardel icily. "I am going ahead." I step onto the teleporter without waiting for the others. 

After a few minutes, they appear. We are now standing in a room made of gray slats of metal, for once not flooded with light of some color. On the left is a revolving door made of copper, and on the far side of the room is a chair, almost a throne. In front of us in a small pool. 

Dart walks up to the water and puts his hand in. "I feel my vitals being refreshed."

"I wonder if it is an apology for the discourtesy?" I say aloud. 

There is a sound like two blades rubbing against each other, and then an old Wingly appears on the chair. His hair is whiter than platinum, and his face is covered with many lines.

"Welcome. I am Blano, Ancestor of the Winglies." he says courteously. 

Miranda, having been raised in polite society, drops to one knee respectfully. "I am the First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau, Miranda. Please forgive our sudden visit." 

"Please listen to us." Dart says. "The Divine Dragon is…" 

The Ancestor nods. "I know. The Divine Dragon came back to life in the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon and there are Dragoons that have come to us. It seems that the times won't leave us alone. The messenger from the Crystal Palace, and the people who were fated to come here… Our opponent is so enormous. We have to combine each of our strengths or none of us will survive. Neither the Crystal Palace nor our forest."

"You mean…"

"Let us put the power of the Dragoons and our wisdom together."

"You will let us borrow your Dragon Block Staff?" Miranda asks anxiously, stepping forward.

The Ancestor looks at her. "We don't have the Dragon Buster now. So the Dragon Block Staff is our last resort. We no longer have the power to master that, however, if you who rule the Dragons can use it, we can fight against the Divine Dragon."

"I appreciate your kindness!" Miranda says, relieved.

"However we cannot participate in the battle. We are all that remain. We cannot become extinct." Ancestor Blano says. 

"I'm going!!" Meru protests 

"I know." Dart smiles. "You are a Dragoon too, Meru."

"Go inside." The Ancestor points to the teleporter. "I will show you where the Dragon Block Staff is."

When I step through the teleporter, we are outside, standing on stone platforms. To the right is a large teleporter at the top of a staircase. The Ancestor explains that this is the one who leads to the Forbidden Land.

The seven of us step onto the teleporter and the Ancestor works his magic. The world shrinks up into a shimmering green sphere, and I feel my very being moving without my consent.

It seems as if I end up in a different world. The time seems to be eternally sunset, and in front of us lies a castle, an ancient Wingly fort from the Dragon Campaign. It was once populated by Winglies, but now no one is allowed here and it is in ruins. The Forbidden Land is one of the five places sacred to the Winglies. The other four...

The Forbidden Land…back in the Dragon Campaign it was the Royal Capital of the Winglies, Kadessa. This…_this_ was where the final battle took place. This was where Zieg and Melbu Frahma had battled to the death.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. 

Meru is sitting on the ground, quivering. Is she crying?

"Meru, are you all right?" Dart asks. "You are shaking."

"It's just that…I can hear the outcries of the people who died here." the Wingly female stands up, her legs twitching slightly.

"You can wait in the forest." Dart offers her kindly.

Meru shakes her head firmly. "No. I won't be able to help you defeat the journey if I cannot conquer such a little thing! Come on, let's go." 

Even Meru does not know the way through the Forbidden Land's twists and turns of a giant maze. We spent the entire day wandering before we decided to rest. It was eternally sunset here, but we were tired, and did not care what time it was. 

I pull one of my gloves off to turn my wrist at different angles and loosen it before slipping the glove back on. 

"Kongol lost." The Giganto declares. 

"We're all lost." Miranda says, but not harshly. 

"Meru, you don't know the way?" Albert asks. "You're sure?"

The Wingly nods. "No one is allowed here. That's why it's called the Forbidden Land." 

We spend the rest of the time discussing which way to go, until we finally just decide to pick a path and hope for the best. Albert had transformed to Dragoon and flew up in the air to try and figure out the path, but when he came down, he claimed that he could not find out. 

Albert and Haschel talk idly about Rouge and its arts and its people. Kongol stares around observing everything. He is not the type for idle chitchat. Miranda glares around her with narrowed brown eyes like a wildcat. I can tell she is watching as I practice with my sword, and I wonder defiantly if she wants to duel. That would take my mind off a lot of things.

I decide that I liked Shana better than Miranda. Shana was weaker in battle, but she was kind and thoughtful. And the fact that Miranda knows how to fight seems to enrage me even further. 

And the next day when she transformed involuntarily to fight a Spinninghead, she looks more like the Light Dragoon than Shana ever did. She is not nearly as graceful as Shirley, but the golden hair and the silver armor compliment each other and she looks dignified and powerful and beautiful at the same time. 

Darkness is always the opposite of Light, and that is probably why I argue with her and dislike her so much. I had done so with Shana in the beginning. But that doesn't make sense. Shirley had been my good friend, and she was a Light Dragoon.

Maybe it's just the fact that Haschel is right; Miranda is a lot like me.

"Where is Dart?"

I take my gaze away from the fire and look up at Kongol's gigantic frame, shrugging. "I think he's over there, practicing with his sword."

The Giganto nods and walks to where I am pointing.

Intrigued, I follow.

"Kongol has question." 

Dart stops practicing thrusts and sheathes his sword. "What's your question, Kongol?"

"Dart say Kongol is friend. What is friend?"

Dart frowns at this question and seems to consider it. "Well," he says thoughtfully. "Let me put it this way. Maybe a friend is a companion who walks on the same road. Someone who travels with you, but does not lead. I think that is a friend."

"Oh." Kongol tilts his massive head. "Kongol is friend?"

"Yeah. We're all friends here."

__

Not me. I think. _Never me._

"I still can't figure out the path." Albert complains as he demorphs from the Wind Dragoon.

"Kongol has headache." Kongol says, landing with a loud thump, awakening a Gnome, which Dart quickly kills. 

"I know that the Dragon Block Staff is somewhere over there." The King of Serdio points to the northeast. "And there's several teleporters placed everything, but I can't find the path that leads to it." 

"Smash through." Kongol says without looking up.

"What?"

"You know, he's right." Miranda says. "Why don't we just smash our way through? You know, just head for the northeast, and if we come to a wall, just break through." 

Dart considers this. "Isn't is a little disrespectful?"

"If we don't get the Dragon Block Staff in time, the world will be in ruin." I point out. "_That_ would be disrespectful."

"Meru, would the Ancestor mind?" Dart asks.

The dancer shrugs, stopping her pirouette. "No one comes here anyway."

Dart still looks doubtful, but when even Haschel agrees, our leader can do nothing but give in.

After a few hours, we finally reach the temple, leaving behind us a trail of crumbled walls, conveniently demolished by Kongol's giant axe. 

Inside the temple is a sand pit with seats set in circular patterns all around it. 

"There's blood here." I announce.

"Blood and many seats." Dart murmurs. "That means that this place is a..."

"Yeah." Meru says dejectedly. "This place used to be used as a coliseum." She turns to observe the arena. "There are two types of Winglies. One type was the kind that loved this coliseum. They would throw the lesser races together and make them fight to the death. Monsters, humans, Minintos, even Gigantos." Meru puts her head in her hands. "I am a descendant of that kind of Wingly."

__

Yes, I remember seeing this coliseum before.

"That is all in the past." Dart reassures her. "There is grief and sorrow here, but it is not our grief and sorrow. It is in the past, and we can't help it. The only thing we can help is to find the Dragon Block Staff as quickly as possible."

"Yeah. Thanks, Dart."

In the next room, there are two teleporters. Picking one randomly, Dart leads us through the paths of the eastern one. 

At the bottom, we come to a dead end, the pathway stopping in front of a large wall. 

"There's nothing here." Dart declares. "Let's go back and try the other one."

I frown.

__

That outline...the arm...

"Wait!" I call. "This is a Virage!" 

The others stop, watching as I walk to the end of the walkway and stare up at the "wall", which in actuality was a Virage.

I twist my head sideways to observe the Virage with deep interest. _The cratering line along its side..._ "And...and this scar! This is the Virage that killed Belzac!" 

Dart walks up beside me. "You say this is a Virage?" 

"What are you talking about?" Miranda demands.

"Virages were destructive creatures used throughout the Dragon Campaign with the Winglies." Albert explains. "Although some still remain."

"This one looks different from the one before." Meru comments.

"It's one of their subspecies. And judging from its shape, this is probably one of the Super Virages from the legends."

"Anyhow, it is not a pretty sight." Dart remarks. 

I fall out of my excited anger, calming myself to the dark stone maiden once again. "But there is nothing to see anymore. Let's go." Squeezing past the cluttered others, I stand on the teleporter.

Dart stares at the Virage, and then turns to follow.

The Virage moves. 

It is so large that it causes the entire room to shake, and then it falls into battle position, facing us.

__

Why did it awaken? Shana is not with us. Unless the last two Virage were not awakened by Shana. 

"Maybe they react to the power of the Dragoons." Dart says, as if reading my mind.

__

That would explain things. They are probably still hungry for revenge after being defeated by humans and Dragoons in the Dragon Campaign.

It is difficult to defeat a Super Virage, almost impossible. The last Super Virage I had seen killed was when Kanzas sacrificed himself.

I race off the teleporter to stand at Dart's side, my right arm stretched out with the blade pointing in front of me, my sword stance. It is always Dart and I in the front of the battles, the two most skilled warriors.

All seven of the Dragoons fight in this battle; no one sits out. We need all the help we can get. But still, three of us collapse, and the others have to guard and heal more constantly than we attack.

The Super Virage has several powerful attacks. One of which is that it creates a tongue of earth, picking up one member of the team and slamming them into the ground.

"Does this thing even die?" Miranda yells.

The Super Virage readies for its ultimate attack.

__

This is the attack that killed Belzac. I think with utmost certainty. _I remember watching it, and then Shirley..._

White energy gathers at the tip of the long arm of the Super Virage, and its faceless head turns slightly. The energy focuses.

"Everyone, guard!" Dart yells. 

The Virage falls to pieces, dead. 

After several seconds of silence, we straighten. I pull my arms away from my head. 

The Virage is lying on the bottom of the pit, dead. 

"What happened?" Dart asks, peering over the edge. 

Defiantly, Miranda braces herself and launches an arrow down into the hide of the Virage. It doesn't move.

"It's dead." She announces.

"Maybe..." I say thoughtfully. "Maybe after 11,000 years of rest, it did not have enough stamina to use its ultimate attack." 

Dart shrugs. "It is not our problem anymore. Let's go to the Dragon Block Staff."

Back in the main room, we choose the teleporter to the north this time, and it leads us down into a dark dank room with something hanging from above. The far side has another teleporter which will take us out of the Forbidden Land.

"There it is!" Meru exclaims, pointing to the thing hanging from the ceiling. 

It looks like a rod, or a scepter that a royalty would use. There is a cluster of jewels at the end, but it is not anything extraordinary.

"That is the Dragon Block Staff? It is not so impressive. Something that small can stand against the power of the Dragoons?" Miranda asks in disgusted disbelief. "Can it actually defeat the Divine Dragon?"

"It is impossible to judge the power of a magical object by the size of the object." I say. "That is indeed the Dragon Block Staff."

"So we get the staff, fight the Dragon, and go home." Miranda says. 

"That is not how it is. It will not be easy. The Divine Dragon is unlike other Dragons. Even with the power of Dragoons and the Dragon Block Staff, we will still have reason for thanks if we manage to seal it back in." I say. 

Albert speaks quietly. "I wonder if Lloyd is going to get the next Divine Moon Object?"

Miranda takes a step back. "How did you know about that?"

"Mille Seseau has one too, doesn't it? An object with the power of the Moon?" Albert asks. 

Miranda turns her back to him. "I don't want to talk about it." She says firmly. The subject obviously does not appeal to her.

"Let's just get the Staff." Dart says.

"I'm getting it." Meru volunteers, and then wings come from her back.

Sprouting from her shoulders blades, aiming downward, they are indeed Wingly wings. Like shafts of moonlight, almost transparent. She does not need to flap them, only think about it, and then she rises into the air, a natural Wingly.

She pulls on the Staff, but it doesn't move. Frowning, she braces her feet against the ceiling, and tugs hard.

Falling with the Dragon Block Staff comes the ceiling. 

No, not the entire ceiling. Some part of the ceiling, more of a large chunk of a monster. A guardian for the Dragon Block Staff, perhaps, making sure that it never left the temple.

The monster is the most hideous one I have seen yet, a floating sphere in shape, but it is bloated and ugly, covered in organic pipes of some sort. Three glowing yellow orbs glitter at equal points around its head. It has no face, and I cannot feel its brain, but it is most definitely alive.

The Dragon Block Staff rests on the crown of its head. The Staff is like a scepter, about three or four feet long, with a red handhold and a golden knob at the top, shimmering with jewels and stored magical energy.

"The Ancestor never said anything about a guardian!" Meru yelps, skipping back from the monster, her wings disappearing as she takes up her hammer.

The monster seems powerful. I will need to transform.

Calling on the power of the darkness Dragon, I summon up the energy within me, trying to conjure the deep violet armor and the red jewels and the longer heavier sword. 

But I do not move. Nothing works. Frowning, I try again, harder, but it doesn't work.

I remember the feeling of not being able to transform from 11,000 years ago. I had stayed away from the Wingly carrying the Staff, but once I was too slow, and I was within its range. The sheer depletion of power had stunned me to the point of almost crying. 

Now, as I look around, I see the others, furious or frightened that they cannot transform. Already they know when to transform and how to withstand and control the power. Even Miranda, who has not been here long. Somewhere under the contempt I feel for her, there is a grudging respect.

"The Dragon Block Staff obviously blocks against us, too." I say. "We will have to defeat it the old-fashioned way." 

The Grand Jewel monster had high defense, and the Staff in its possession, but it did not attack frequently. Sometimes all seven of us could attack before it would counter with an attack item such as Gushing Magma or Spectral Flash. 

Miranda is stronger than Shana was, her poise sturdier, her courage braver. But I could sense that she carried within her a hate and lack of emotion for most things. Something had happened to her, and I wonder why the Queen Theresa bothers to keep Miranda at her side. The Sacred Sisters are supposed to preach love and kindness, but it seems Miranda has none of either. 

When the Grand Jewel falls, she glares at it with obvious distaste, tossing her head back so that her shoulder-length golden hair swivels around her neck. 

The Grand Jewel howls and screeches with a voicebox that I cannot see, wailing on high and low frequencies, so that the party covers their ears, watching as it dissipates unlike the other monsters. They simply seem to fade into the ground from which they were born. The molecules that form this monster seem to disappear one by one, until the Grand Jewel grows slowly smaller and smaller, until its very existence is no more, with no trace that it ever lived in any life. 

Dart picks up the Dragon Block Staff. "We have what we came here for. We better get back."

It is much easier to find the way back than it was to get to the Staff. On the way back, we just followed the path of demolished walls until we reached the entrance again. 

I keep my eyes on the ground as I walk, sulking internally. 

The dirt in front of me grows darker, and the sun is blocked out. Hissing a warning, I grab my sword and look up.

The rattling of scales sounds, and a long slender gray body slithers through the air, growling and roaring. Seven wings beat against the air, and its very presence causes the ground to shake. I stumble, trying to keep my balance.

"The Divine Dragon!" I yell

Miranda snaps at me. "Don't be silly! It's too early!"

But the long shadow that passes over us in unmistakable.

"Oh no!" Miranda gasps. "Deningrad! We have to get back!" 

Without waiting for Dart's consent, the tall woman rushes forward, through the destroyed paths and out the temple door. 

__

If the Divine Dragon attacks Deningrad for real this time...everyone there will be killed. Queen Theresa, Wink, Setie, Luanna, even Shana. Gods, I never thought I would care. 

We follow Miranda through the teleporter, and end up back at the stone platforms outside the Forest of Winglies. 

Ancestor Blano is there, age-wrinkled eyes widened. "Quickly. The Divine Dragon has appeared. You must get to Deningrad. I will teleport you there with my powers. Get on." he points to the giant teleporter that we had seen on the top of the stone pyramid.

The seven members of the party dash up the stairs, clambering onto the teleporter. 

The ancient Wingly stands in front of us, hovering in the air, his hands clasped and eyes closed in concentration. I know he is trying to work the teleporter to take us directly to Deningrad. 

The world fades slowly to green, and we seem to be trapped in an orb, flying up. I feel my body being tossed around, but when one teleports, she cannot see what is going on. 

It is only after my body's feet touch the ground that I realize I am not standing among the snowy coziness of Deningrad, but the barren rocks of the Forbidden Land. Ancestor Blano has failed. 

He is still there, trying again, harder.

"Ancestor Blano!" Meru screams. "He doesn't have enough power!" She slams on the side of the glowing green orb we are standing in with the palm of her hand. "Ancestor!"

"Ancestor Blano!" A voice echoes Meru's, and then two Winglies appear, their shaft-of-light wings beating as they hover next to the older Wingly. "Let us help you!"

"Mother! Father!" Meru yells.

"We believe in Meru! And her friends who Meru believe in too!"

"I want to see the future that Meru and her friends create!" 

And then another Wingly appears, right next to the orb. His hands are clasped and he is trying to help too. The green energy flows from all around us, being drawn into our little teleport area. Meru looks at the new Wingly. "Guaraha?!" 

With the combined power of four Winglies, the teleporter gives an awful lurch, and then we are back in Deningrad.

"No! We're too late!"


	4. Screaming Inside

ROSE'S STORY: THE DARKNESS DRAGOON

"It's too late!" Miranda screams, running through the streets.

Deningrad has been wiped clean with the King of Dragons' Cannon attacks. The houses' roofs have been blown off, and part of the walls too. The people are huddling in the streets, screaming and whispering in fear and awe. 

And the Crystal Palace...

The pinnacle that is the Palace has snapped in two, falling apart. The entire construction of the building has crumbled apart. Shards of blue-green crystal are everywhere.

"Queen Theresa!" Miranda yells, running for the Crystal Palace and ducking past several of the knights.

"Shana was in the Palace!" Dart follows her with equal speed.

Luanna and Setie are sitting near the entrance. Miranda helps them to her feet. "Are you two all right?"

"Yes, we are fine." Luanna replies, amazingly calm.

"I was scared." Setie admits in a whispery voice.

"Shut up. We got the Dragon Block Staff." Miranda snaps.

"Good. We will need it to protect ourselves for the next time." Luanna speaks.

"What do you mean, 'next time'?" Miranda demands.

"The psyche that the Divine Dragon projected was a black bottomless abyss of hatred." Luanna explains everything in one sentence. "There will be a next time."

Miranda sets her jaw and walks over to a downed knight. 

"Hey! Wake up!" She slaps him.

"Uh, yes ma'am!" he leaps to his feet. 

"Watch over these two." Miranda orders, narrowing her liquid amber eyes and running to the throne room. 

The walls have been torn and all the furniture smashed or broken on the floor. The crystals are scattered all over so that it is impossible to walk without it crunching under my feet, and the people have been thrown around. It looks like the devastating result of an earthquake. Several of the knights are climbing to their feet, and the Third Sacred Sister, Wink, is slumped against the wall.

"Wink!" Dart calls, running over and helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Sister Miranda gave me treatment." Wink seems dazed.

Dart stands up and looks around. He gasps when he sees the demolished entrance to Shana's room. "Shana!"

"Wait!" Wink calls. "Miss Shana is alive! I think she's with the Queen in the throne room."

I don't think the Black Monster ever attacked Deningrad before...did it? I can't really remember. Last time, the Moon Child was a princess of Mille Seseau, but she was killed on the Saint Louvia, not in Deningrad.

The throne room is brightly lit with a blue-white glow that doesn't seem to start anywhere. It seems only like void and none else in detail. Miranda stands with her arms in front of her face, grimacing. "What is that?" She wants to know.

I narrow my eyes, trying to keep the brightness out. I use the Dark Dragon spirit as a shade, squinting through its darkness.

"Shana!" Dart yells into the brightness.

The white fades, pausing first and then slowly moving, as if gathering at its main point. When the light disappears, Shana is facing us. Her eyes are closed and her hands are held together, like the time when she had unbelievably pushed the Virage off the cliff without physical power. The light seems to be gathering back into her. She is floating in the air somehow, without her Dragoon Spirit and without wings, she is floating, high up, maybe five meters. When the light disappears, she is gently lowered onto the steps to the throne. 

Behind her is Queen Theresa, lying unconscious in front of her throne, but still breathing.

"Queen Theresa!" Miranda yells, running up to the Queen and bending down to her. Is the Queen her mother, I wonder?

"Shana." Dart shakes his ladyfriend gently. "Shana, wake up."

"Dart?" Shana's eyes seem unfocused. She shakes her head several times and then blinks. "Dart, what happened?"

There is a groan, and then the Queen comes back, standing with the help of Miranda. "The Divine Dragon attacked...but we are all safe."

"What was that light?" Miranda asks. "It was as if it was protecting Queen Theresa and Shana. What happened?"

The female sovereign lowers herself gently back onto her throne, brushing off shards of crystals first. "The Divine Dragon attacked." She repeats. "I wanted to speak with Shana, and I called her to the throne room. As she entered, the Divine Dragon attacked, shaking the Crystal Palace and destroying Deningrad. We would have all been killed if it wasn't for Shana. She walked up to the throne, calmly, turned around, knelt, and...then the light came. It was as if..."

I turn to look at the girl. Shana is leaning against Dart for support, her breathing slightly ragged, as if she has been running for a long time. Her eyes still seem hazy, clouded over, but she still seems like a ruffled baby bird, or a tired angel of some sort.

How is it that the human girl can have so much power? Never before in all my 11,000 years have I seen such a magic as this! To withstand the attack of the Divine Dragon, to call upon an unseen and mystical power that is beyond Dragoons, it is impossible! Who is Shana, actually, and what connection does she have to all this?!

Queen Theresa is staring at Miranda, who has her face buried in her hands.

Crying.

Crying?! Miranda?! I would have thought that impossible...

The Queen smiles. "Now you cannot call Setie a crybaby anymore, Miranda." 

"I don't care. Please just let me cry. Let me cry..." 

Is she weeping out of joy? What does it feel like to cry? I had wasted all my tears 11,000 years ago, mourning the loss of my friends and my love. The last time I cried was a thousand years ago, and since then I have not shed a single tear. Why is the steel-hearted Miranda crying? Because her queen is safe?

"It will take a long time to rebuild Deningrad." Queen Theresa says sadly, looking out at the ruined city. 

"But we shall do what we can." Wink says, coming into the room, her hand on Luanna's arm.

"The people are frightened, but they are safe." Luanna reports. "But the Divine Dragon will be back to finish the job. The...hatred that I felt in it. It is unending."

"Yes, but it was a miracle that everyone survived." Miranda says, turning to look at Shana, smiling. "You brought us a miracle, Shana!"

The girl shakes her head. "But I hurt people as well. What happened to Seles was my fault too."

"No it wasn't." Dart says firmly, quickly. He is like that, always behind you, ready to support you if you stumble or fall. "That was Doel's fault."

Shana only stares at him. "Who am I?"

Without a sound, she faints again. 

The rooms in the Crystal Palace have been destroyed, and it is no place for a sick young woman. The inn is still intact, so Dart and the others all gather there, putting Shana in the care of the innkeeper and two knights. 

When she awakens, she seems to know what has happened. 

"Miranda, can watch over Shana?" Dart asks.

"Are you telling me to stay here?" Miranda demands.

"You are a Sacred Sister of this country. You have no obligation to come with us."

"I am a Dragoon, remember? I have no intention of withdrawing from the battle. Besides, Shana told me to take care of the rest. I intend to keep that promise." Miranda says firmly.

At least she understands her obligation as a Dragoon.

The Queen speaks. "We have reached an agreement. Please take Miranda with you."

Dart bows. "Yes, your majesty."

We stop at the inn to speak to Shana, who has regained consciousness. Kongol and Meru walk in and speak to her first, then come out, and Albert and Haschel go in, talking reassuringly. Dart sits at her side, holding her hand and watching her carefully.

It is my turn to go speak to her, although I know not what to say. What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry? Please get well? I am a warrior, and not at all good with this type of thing. 

So instead, I just lean against the wall, and Miranda walks up to her new friend.

"Are you all right?" Miranda asks, her voice gentle. I had not thought that she could be gentle

Shana, what happened to you? Why do you have to leave the Light Dragon to this woman, leaving her stuck with us? An unusual anger fills me.

"I cannot believe your timing." I say.

Miranda turns on me, growling, "That is no way to talk to a friend!"

I reply in a calm voice, deliberately. "I haven't seen your power as a Dragoon, have I?"

"Are you saying you don't trust me?!" Miranda demands.

You said it, I didn't.

"Please stop." Shana says. "Miranda is fine. She can do better than me."

I push myself off the wall, pausing at the doorway. "I hope so." 

Behind me, I can sense Miranda tensing. "Is she like that all the time?"

Shana shifts, smiling. "Rose may pretend to be harsh, but she does care for me. Actually, Rose is concerned for me."

Against everything I've taught myself to believe, I do care. Gods, after 11,000 years of teaching myself not to get involved with anyone, I've failed. Miserably.

Miranda makes a scoffing sound. "What a clumsy woman."

Perhaps. 

After a few more minutes, Dart and Miranda appear outside the inn. 

"She'll be safe, Dart. Don't worry." Haschel says. "She has the knights to protect her."

As if they could do much help. I am being harsher than usual; for some reason I am angry.

"The only way to stop the Dragon is to confront him." Dart says. "It's time to leave. Let's go to the Mt. Dragon Tomb."

The path to the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon is in the Evergreen Forest, on the leftmost part of the Forest, where we had passed right before Meru slipped away to visit her parents. 

The knight there refuses to let us through, saying that it is dangerous.

Miranda drags him to the side and says a few furious words to him. Her eyes are blazing with anger. When the knight comes back, he meekly allows us through.

"How efficient." Albert says quietly. 

The Mortal Dragon Mountain is far in the distance, a towering mountain with snow at its base, but a volcano on its insides. The sides are made of stone, and the pathways wind inside and around, so that it is a long walk through several arches and bridges before we can get to the top where the Divine Dragon rests.

Halfway up the mountain, the earth starts to shake, and loose boulders tumble down the sides to the ground below.

A roar splits the air, and the top of the mountain seems to emanate heat and anger.

It didn't like being sealed up by the Winglies. I guess it wants to get back at everyone.

The sky is lit up by brilliant white light, and a power fills the air so that the Dragoons, who are more sensitive than humans are, groan and stumble. The Dragon's scream reverberates in my mind.

Everyone sits up, grabbing his or her weapon and I gaze around with glaring eyes.

But no one seems to be hurt, and there is no attacker here. The sound came from far off, perhaps on the mountain.

"It is coming from the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon!" Dart exclaims.

"That was a magic power!" Meru declares. "An awfully powerful mega magic!"

"Whatever it is, that is our destination."

A giant white light streaks across the sky, horizontally, rumbling with power.

"As if…" I muse thoughtfully, waiting until every head is turned toward me. "It is unburdening his anger all over the world. The anger toward Winglies who sealed him."

"And us humans who dominated Dragons." Albert agrees. 

"Then does this mean that Deningrad was choen to be the place for the declaration of war?!" Miranda demands, stepping closer as if to strike at me. 

"We will settle that on the top of the Mountain of Mortal Dragon before the next town becomes a victim." Dart announces firmly, glaring at the orange-red glow of the volcano, staring up. 

With the ground shaking, it is hard to move at a steady pace, and we must rest near the top of the mountain before going on. The sky is dark already, but we must not stop, in fear of the Dragon attacking again.

It is when we are closer that I hear it.

"The sound of swords…" I declare quietly. 

"No way. Has somebody already started to fight against it?" Dart asks.

"Let's go. Either way, we will have to join in."

"Miranda, you are a Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau." Albert says. "You must know about the Divine Moon Object."

This is not the first time that the King of Serdio has asked her. He had revealed his identity to the Queen, but only questioned Miranda about the Moon Object. All three times she would not tell him, snapping at him to mind his own business and that it is for Mille Seseau to know. 

I listen to the conversation with half a mind. A strange feeling is filling me. Is it dread? Foreboding?

Who could be up there fighting the Dragon? Who was the foolish one who unleashed the King of Dragons and released it?

I can see the shadows of the Divine Dragon cast around the bend of the pathway now. I turn to face the others. 

They are my responsibility. As the oldest Dragoon here, I have to care for their welfare, like it or not. I have to teach them how to use their powers, and how to control it as well. This battle may be too steep for them. Maybe it is better if they back off now, and leave it to me to fight the Divine Dragon.

"This is it. You can leave if you want." I offer coldly.

"There is no one here who would think that way." Dart replies automatically. He shifts the Dragon Block Staff from his left hand to his right. "Right?"

Meru puts her arms behind her head. "Um...may I be excused a bit?"

So...

Haschel looks at her in disbelief. "Meru, you are the representative of the Winglies! Show a little courage!" 

Miranda glares at the young dancer. "Are you going to go hide in your forest now?" She asks condescendingly, her voice dripping with nastiness, as if daring Meru.

"H-hey! I was just kidding!" Meru says hastily. "Come on, it's a joke!" 

I don't see any of us laughing...

Without speaking to the others, I draw my sword and walk around the corner of the stone pathways to where the Divine Dragon is thrashing. 

It is writhing in pain, swiveling its head back and forth over itself as if trying to bite some annoying bug on it. The jaws snap at something on its back, moving too quickly for me to see what. There is another sound of blade meeting the flesh of the Dragon.

And then Lloyd stands in front of us.

"Whew...it is stronger than I thought. It is earlier than I expected. Even with the Dragon Buster, which can kill Dragons, he gave me a hard time."

"Lloyd!" Dart yells, leveling his sword at the platinum-haired man's neck, holding the Staff in his free hand. Dart is perhaps the one here that hates Lloyd the most. The swordsman had killed his friend Lavitz, and destroyed his hometown of Neet as the Black Monster.

Lloyd does not flinch; he does not even look at us. The coral glow of the volcano lava glints off his hair. 

"It is almost dead. There is no need for you to join in."

"You broke the seal of the strongest Dragon of all but you couldn't control it!" Albert accuses.

"What are we yapping about?" Miranda demands. "We can kill this man anytime! We have to defeat the Divine Dragon!"

"The First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau, I see, is the replacement for that girl." Lloyd comments. "How convenient for us."

"Shut up!" Dart commands. 

I notice that the swordsman holds the Dragon Buster in his hand. I focus on the ancient weapon, taking in every detail of its color and shape and size. The red hilt of the swirling design that Winglies seemed to like, and the jagged-edged blade, seemingly made of yellow flame, retractable, so that it seems that he is only carrying around a sculpture of some sort. 

The Dragon Buster...I could never forget it. It was the sword that the bastard used to kill Lavitz.

"I'll leave it to you then." Lloyd says quietly, and leaps into the air. I look around but he seems to be gone. 

"Forget Lloyd! Focus on the Dragon!" I yell.

The Divine Dragon has rose to its feet now, up to its full height, limbs all stretched. It is a hideous Dragon, a dull gray, at least half a mile in length from the snout to the tip of the tail. The seven wings beat ominously against the air, waving the smoke of the volcano steam away. The six eyes above the slit that is its mouth glitter dangerously with a hidden fury. The larger eye, located under its mouth, on its chin, blinks at us with a narrowed pupil. 

Dart tosses the Dragon Block Staff into the air. 

The jeweled rod spins several times in that one spot, staying in the air as if petrified. 

Attacking and defending power of Divine Dragon and Dragoons reduced! 

Well, this is it. A great battle in part of this web that is growing larger and larger. These humans know not what they are getting into.

In this battle, we would not be able to use our Dragoon Spirits. I could not call on the Darkness Dragoon anymore. This would be a battle that lay in our human brute strength only. 

A part of me wishes that we had brought more reinforcements. I wish that Shirley was here. Shirley and everyone else: Damia, Kanzas, Syuveil, Belzac, and most of all, Zieg.

I have got to stop living in the past. This is torturing myself.

The feeling I had not identified before is now clear to me. Fear. I do not get frightened as easily as other humans but every time I face a Dragon or every 108 years, I feel fear. It is not a feeling unfamiliar to me, yet every time I become frightened as if it were my first time in the Dragon Campaign. 

Now is one of those times. The Divine Dragon is no pushover. Even with the Dragon Block Staff his attacks are enough to make me stumble. I am very relieved that we brought so many healing items. 

"Demon's Dance!" The sword based on darkness.

"Blazing Dynamo!" The sword based on fire.

"Gust of Wind Dance!" The lance based on wind.

"Hex Hammer!" Bare fists with the power of thunder.

"Bone Crush!" The giant axe based on earth.

"Cat's Cradle!" The hammer based on water. 

Miranda is wordless as she thrusts arrow after arrow, quickly and silently, at the Dragon. Idly, I wonder if it is because she does not know any names of the attacks, or if bow and arrow do not have attack names, or if it is just that she does not wish to speak.

Fate seems to take a strong hand in our journey. So many—no, all—of these new Dragoons are similar to the ones from my time. Albert and Syuveil, the Wind Dragoons, fighting with lances, both with an endless hunger for knowledge, both wise and kind...even Greham and Lavitz had used lances. 

Damia and Meru...and Lenus as well, Water Dragoons, using hourglass-shaped hammers that look too large for their petite frames. Kongol and Belzac, almost identical with their strength and size and giant axes. Haschel and Kanzas, both Thunder Dragoons, using bare fists. Miranda and Shirley, the Dragoons of Light, both with shimmering bows...and Shana. And of course, Dart and Zieg, so alike it makes me wish to weep, if I could remember what that was.

"Demon's Dance!" 

But they are all different in many ways. Albert was friendly, sharing his thoughts, while Syuveil had been almost apathetic from everyone, and had a special interest in life and death. Damia had a low self-esteem; she was always worried about her actions, while Meru seems overconfident and full of herself. Belzac loved Shirley with all his heart and soul; it seems Kongol does not take an interest in any female, and also the fact that Kongol is Giganto. Shirley was kind and gentle; Miranda is...not. 

But Dart and Zieg are so identical. Has Zieg been reborn in Dart?

They use the same weapon...in fact, they all use the same weapon.

Gods above...is this a coincidence?

Does Fate control who receives the next Dragoon Spirit? Is it that the Spirit chooses? Why is it that every single one of the next Dragoons of the same element use the same weapon and look alike? Are they reincarnations?

"Rose, look out!"

I snap myself out of my trance, hardly realizing I had been moving, to see the Divine Dragon's head lurch toward me, jaws wide.

Dropping flat on my back, I wait until the head is directly above me before stabbing my sword upward. 

I miss the neck, but then again, I probably couldn't have reached the distance. The blade enters the Dragon's largest eye instead, blinding it and spilling blood over me. 

The Divine Dragon howls in pain and fury, pulling its head up the sky and wailing, dripping blood onto its own self. But the other six eyes are still working fine, and they can still see. 

I smear the blood off my face with the back of one black-gloved hand, tasting the coppery tinge of Dragon blood. 

Deftly, Miranda leaps back from the Dragon's thrust again, launching an arrow into one of its remaining six eyes. Her own growls of rage echo the Dragon's.

Not too bad. I admit reluctantly.

"Nice work." Dart says. "But what do we do? Each of us take an eye and a wing?"

"No." Haschel says, running forward immediately after, pummeling the Dragon with a fierce flurry of punches and kicks. "That would take too long and it is too risky." 

"Then what can we do?" Dart yells, taking his turn. "We're not getting anywhere with this!" 

"Dragon is weakening." Kongol says, pausing for a moment to stare at our leader. "Tired."

"Cat's Cradle!" Meru steps back, hefting her hammer. "The Dragon's not the only one. I'm getting tired too!" 

I am half-expecting Miranda to say something disdainful, but she hardly seems to be paying attention to us speaking. Her entire concentration is focused on the Divine Dragon only, her lips tight and her face drawn as she attacks.

Of course...the Dragon attacked her home. No wonder she is so angry. Hmm…

"Aim for the Cannon!" Albert says, rushing forward and jabbing in the correct place with the elaborate lance.

The spot on the Dragon that the king had attacked was vaguely in the shape of a cannon. The King of Dragons had been using that part to attack us several times with a powerful attack that made us have to heal ourselves immediately afterward. 

Automatically, without really thinking about it, I shift my attacks from the Dragon's torso to the Dragon's Cannon. The others do the same, listening to the young king's advice. 

With the Cannon out of the way, the Dragon's attacks are less powerful, and more easily evaded. 

It takes a long time but finally the Dragon succumbs to Dart's sword.

The King of Dragons threw his head back, screaming up to the sky as if that could quench his rage. With a disturbingly shrill wail, the Divine Dragon collapses to the ground with a mighty thud that must have reverberated all throughout Mille Seseau. The team barely manages to scramble back in time to avoid being trodden upon by the falling Dragon.

There is a blur of silver and black color at the corner of my eye, but even as I turn, Lloyd stands in front of the Dragon, a superior look on his face, a hungering light in his eyes. 

Sheathing the Dragon Buster, he stooped down and picked up a glowing silver orb, fastened on a chain. 

Oh no!

Dart gasps. "That is!"

Lloyd looks at him with an unnerving gaze. "That's correct. The Dragoon Spirit of the Divine Dragon." 

With his already-amazing swordsman skills, plus the power of the Divine Dragoon...the combination would be deadly for everyone, even for the seven elemental Dragoons. He would be unstoppable! This could...

As if reading my mind, Lloyd continues. "With this, I can finally finish my utopia."

Utopia?

"You were the one who formed the conspiracy to destroy the world!" Albert accuses.

"The King of Serdio, what brought you all the way here? Was it the loss of your Moon Gem? Or your friend Lavitz?"

"Don't even mention that name!" Dart snarls.

I think that Lloyd is laughing as he disappears. He moves with such an amazing agility and speed that he is gone before any of us can track in which direction he went.

But there is no need to. There is only one way out of the mountain.

"Come on!" I am not sure who yells it, maybe Dart, or maybe me, but on any occasion, it is the two of us that are the fastest, drawing our swords and rushing down the path. 

"Lloyd!" Dart yells, spotting the swordsman up ahead. 

This is not a good place for battle. The pathway curved around the edge, and we are standing at the edge of a cliff, with only a smaller ledge and lava beneath us. Lloyd has the entire platform, and a much greater advantage.

The Wingly has already extended his wings, almost transparent in the light. Wavering right on top of the doorway, he turns around and glares at us with narrowed eyes.

In his hands, a multicolored sphere of deadly energy gathers. 

No time to transform to Dragoon! Not with the Dragon Block Staff affecting the mountain!

I can see the others appearing around the corner. "Look out!" Meru screams.

Lloyd had not aimed for Dart or I, but the ground in front of us. The energy makes the cliff crumble, and the ground can no longer support our weight. 

No! I refuse to die like this!

I am falling. I try to twist so that I can at least see how far I have, or to land on my feet, but my body won't respond, smashing again and again into the cliff, scratching myself. 

Finally, my head strikes something, and darkness overcomes. 

"Ah…Ahh…"

Zieg?

My eyes are still cloudy; I cannot see clearly. I cannot even tell where I am. But...Zieg is here. He is kneeling beside me, holding my hand. 

How is it that you are still alive, my love?

I try to smile, lifting one hand and stroking his cheek. "I...thought... you were dead… Don't worry. I am carrying out your will. We took this world back together, I won't let them ruin it. Virage…Embryo. The moon…with black power." 

Are you proud of me? Disgusted? Please...talk to me. Don't just sit there. Please...speak!

There is a tugging at the corners of my mind again, telling me that unconsciousness is coming soon.

No…I don't want to go. Only after 11,000 years am I able to see him again. I don't want to go!

But a gentler part of my mind whispers, He'll be here when you wake up, remember? Both of you promised...he won't leave you. Now go to sleep…

Sighing in defeat and relief, I allow myself to be dragged back into unconsciousness. 

"Hey! Rose, wake up!" Someone is yelling at me, and another someone is gently slapping my cheek.

That's...not...Zieg...

Automatically, I grab my sword and jolt awake, thrusting forward. 

"Whoa!" Meru barely manages to avoid the blade. "Rose!"

Meru? What are you doing here?

I blink, taking in the surroundings. The Mountain of the Mortal Dragon... all the members of the present team... Where did Zieg go?

"I'm sorry." I say stiffly, climbing to my feet awkwardly, still looking around. "What happened?"

"Lloyd blasted you and Dart off the cliff. Luckily there was a platform down there. You must have landed on your head, because you were unconscious. Meru transformed into Wingly and carried the both of you up here." Haschel explains.

"Are you all right? It took several healing items to awaken you." Albert says, more kindly.

"I...landed on my...head?" I ask quietly.

"Yes."

So it had all been a hallucination...Zieg was never really there...

"Oh." I say flatly. False hope.

I stumble, unable to stay balanced. My head hurts. The world is spinning and I can taste bile in my throat. Too weak to protest, I stay silent as the King takes my arm, helping me to stay on my feet. 

"I'm sorry…it's my fault. I let him go." I swallow thickly. "I apologize for it."

"It wasn't your fault, Rose." Dart assures me quickly. "None of us knew he was a Wingly who could use magic."

"Either way," Albert says. "Lloyd's objectives will still be the Divine Moon Objects. Miranda, you cannot hide it any longer."

The Sacred Sister scowls and turns her face angrily.

"It's not like you, Miranda. Don't hesitate." Meru says.

The blonde woman seems defiant for a moment, but then weakens, staring down at the ground. "I guess there is no choice but to tell everything. The Divine Moon Objects are said to be brought by Winglies. And it is said that they have a dreadful magic power concealed within. That is the reason why they were never allowed to be taken outside. A national treasure that has been kept a close secret." She pauses and speaks bitterly. "It is called the Moon Mirror. The successive thrones have been the keys to opening the seal… Oh, it cannot be!"

"Queen Theresa is in danger!" Dart yells.

"Come on!"

She is very loyal to her queen.

Everyone falls into an easy pace, because we are all tired from the Dragon battle, and Meru especially, because she had to carry a well built young man and an unconscious woman up a cliff.

Dart slows down to walk next to me. "When you were unconscious," he chooses his words carefully. "You said a few things. You spoke of the Virage Embyro, and the Moon Child, and a Black Power. Do you mean the Black Monster?"

"Did I say that?" I ask absently, although I hear him perfectly well. "I don't remember. I'm sorry, Dart, but all I know about the Black Monster is what you know."

In actuality I know more about the Black Monster than it does itself.

"Oh." His voice is quiet.

I shut my eyes briefly, knowing no one can see.

It had been my own false hope, my own stupidity, that conjured up the image that Zieg was there. 

The others can only see that I am back to being the harsh woman, apathetic and cold again.

They have no idea that I am screaming inside.

I am relieved to see the Evergreen Forest, to breathe clean air.

The hallucination still bothers me, but I reprimand myself for it. 

It was your own stupidity, Rose, that made you believe it was real. He died, remember? You couldn't save him. What makes you think he'd be back, and willing to be with you again? Don't fall for another stupid trick like that again.

I fall back into my role, trying to forget what happened.

We are at the edge of the Evergreen Forest, on the last path with the top of the Crystal Palace of Deningrad in sight, when the captain of the knights appears. He is wounded, limping, and breathing hard.

"Captain!" Miranda seems pleased to see him. "We defeated the Dragon, and...??? You are wounded?! What happened?"

"The Queen...has been captured..." The knight gasps out, trying to catch his breath.

"What?!" Miranda slaps the knight with the back of her hand, knocking him onto the ground. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"I tried, ma'am, I really did, but he was too powerful!" the knight is cringing, afraid of the one he is speaking about or Miranda, I am not sure.

Lloyd...of course. After the last Divine Moon Object, the Moon Mirror.

"Where did he take her?" Albert asks.

The knight blinks at him, obscurely frightened. Miranda takes a step forward and the knight backs up. "I don't know! Maybe Sister Wink knows something!"

"My sisters are safe, aren't they?" 

"Yes. Everyone is waiting for you and your group at the Crystal Palace!"

Wordlessly, faster than I would think possible, Miranda is already gone, running toward Deningrad.

When we enter the throne room of the Crystal Palace, we can only see three downed knights, groaning. Luanna sits on the steps to the throne, gazing around with blank eyes. Setie is kneeling, trying to comfort Wink, who is sobbing heavily into her hands. 

"What do you mean that Queen Theresa was taken away?!" Miranda yells. "What happened?!"

"Sister Miranda!" Setie leaps up and runs over.

"What happened here?" Miranda repeats, more forcefully.

"Let me tell you." Luanna offers. "A few days ago, when the howling of the Dragon from the Mountain stopped, we assumed he had been successfully vanquished."

"Everyone, everyone was happy about it." Setie chirps. 

"Wink came back with a young man, very handsome with platinum hair. She claimed that he had saved her from a Wingly who attacked her. She also said that it was Lloyd who told her about Dart and his friends defeating the Dragon." Luanna weaves the story. 

So...Lloyd was her secret love...

"He was very polite at first. Queen Theresa asked him how he knew about the battle, and he said it was coincidence that he saw Sister Miranda and her friends on the mountain." Luanna says hesitantly. "But...I could sense that he was hiding something. I said to him, 'the murderous intention you conceal inside...you cannot disguise it!' Queen Theresa sensed it as well. Lloyd said that he did not intend to make a scene, and he ducked past the knights easily. The next moment, he was gone and Queen Theresa with him."

"He tricked me." Wink says, beginning to sob again. "He used me as a pawn."

She must be devastated by this. She wanted to tell him about her feelings for him, and he tricked her...but does Lloyd have feelings for her?

"He must be forcing the Queen to tell him where the Moon Mirror is!" Miranda hisses violently. "We have to stop him!"

"Miranda," Dart says almost gently. "Where is the Moon Mirror?"

The Sacred Sister pauses, staring at him with an expression that is half fury and half hope. She shifts uncomfortably and glances at her sisters, then lifts her head and speaks clearly. "It's in the Tower of Flanvel." 

"Tower of Flanvel?" The others echo.

Not there again… 

"It's by the Snowfields. I will lead you there." Miranda says firmly. She turns to the knights. "You will guard my sisters on your lives. If I return to find that they are hurt in any way, I will have your lives!"

And I don't doubt that she could do that too.

Dart pauses at the inn, ducking inside to make sure that Shana is safe. He comes out a minute later to say that she is well, but heavily asleep.

Moving quickly, long legs taking large steps, Miranda leads us out of the destroyed city of Deningrad. 

But instead of heading southeast to the Evergreen Forest, which seems to be a path for everywhere, Miranda heads west, cutting through the untouched whiteness of the snow, heading toward the mountain range.

We had all bought cloaks or coats in Deningrad, because Miranda had warned us that it would be cold. I wrap the length of dark velvet around myself and continue to follow.

"I have only been there once, but I remember the way." Miranda says.

We travel through the Snowfields toward the Kashua Glacier, where the roads are slippery and laid with ice.

"What a cold place." Dart comments.

"It pierces through my aged bones." Haschel complains, rubbing his arms.

"It is a land where the earth is eternally covered under ice." Miranda says in a monotone. "I understand that it must be harsh on someone who has never been here."

"Darn I'm totally dying!" Meru is jumping up and down to warm herself. "Do you often visit such a place, Miranda?"

"It's been a while since I came all the way here." The Sacred Sister admits. "But I would often come here to find solace for my loneliness."

Meru tries to run toward her and slips on the ice. "Ouch! You got such a kind mother like Queen Theresa, how could you have a 'lonely time'?"

Miranda stands at the edge of a crevasse. "Her Majesty Theresa is not my birth mother. My true birth mother abandoned me." She shakes her head in disgust. "After that, I met Her Majesty Theresa. Her Majesty Theresa cherished me when I was alone, as if I were her real daughter. Since then, I've never felt loneliness again."

So…there is more to her than meets the eye. Perhaps I have underestimated her.

Dart walks over and puts a comforting hand on Miranda's shoulder. The blonde woman nods once, and begins to lead the way again.

The Tower of Flanvel is a safe place to put the Moon Mirror. The closest city to it is Deningrad, and from there to the mountains takes five days' of running. Then to climb the mountains, ducking across the icy paths that cut through the valleys, takes another day. From there, there is a guardian blocking the entrance, a powerful Windigo. Only with Dart's Fire Dragoon did we manage to kill off the monster. 

After the Windigo, we enter a place that seems to be Wingly made. A series of teleporters, at least three in each room, is the next obstacle. It would take a long time to find your way if you didn't know the correct sequence. Miranda only forgot twice, and we reached the Tower of Flanvel by midday. 

A normal human after the Moon Mirror would not have been able to make it.

But Lloyd is not a normal human. He is a Wingly with utter determination, and great skills.

"There. That's the Tower of Flanvel." Miranda points at the tower. "It used to be a Wingly tower. It ruled the skies."

"This thing can fly?!" Haschel repeats in disbelief.

"Winglies in the past used to have an enormous amount of magic power." I explain.

"Then it wouldn't be strange if this much magic power is conceled in the Divine Moon Objects." Dart concludes.

"For the people of Serdio," King Albert declares quietly "For King Zior, and for Princess Emille. No, this is a life or death matter for all of Endiness."

"That even more of a reason. We must stop the ambitions of Lloyd here!"

The opening at the top of the tower shows a faint lighting of greenish power.

"Queen Theresa!" 

When we reach the top of the stairs, Lloyd is bowing to the queen. "I appreciate your cooperation." 

He holds the shimmering Moon Mirror in his hands. 

Silently, agile as a hunting cat, Miranda rises and fires an arrow.

Lloyd must have sensed it coming, because he twisted to the side just in time to avoid the incoming arrow. 

Miranda mutters a curse, and then the seven Dragoons all grab their weapons and run forward into the large empty room. 

Lloyd is dressed in full Wingly battle armor. The thick gray shielding covers him entirely, so that only his head is visible. One gloved hand clutches the Dragon Buster in his hands. 

The Divine Dragoon Spirit hangs around his neck, but it does not glow star-like. The Divine Dragon does not recognize Lloyd as its master. That is a relief. 

"I have all three Divine Moon Objects. Now I can create the utopia that Emperor Diaz and I desire." 

"Utopia?" Queen Theresa echoes.

"You should understand, Your Majesty. The evolution of the 108th species. You humans are only the 106th, and we Winglies are the 107th species. I desire the creation of the 108th species."

"Lloyd, is that all you have to say?" Dart yells.

"I'll let my sword say the rest." The platinum-haired man replies calmly. "Shall we finish up?"

The battle is silent, only the cries of pain or the names of the attacks. No one says taunts or jeers.

I fight the battle with half a mind. Fighting is so familiar to me now.

In a way, Lloyd reminded me of Zieg. They were both powerful warriors, and wielded the sword as if it were an extension of their own body. And once they set their mind to something, it was nearly impossible to turn them back. They both fought with the same fluidness, like a graceful striking snake. And they were both unbelievably beautiful.

"Madness Hero!"

I could not say that this battle would be the one to decide whether or not the plundering of the Divine Moon Objects would stop. Lloyd was only a minion. The real battle would be with this ultimate one that they claimed was the Emperor Diaz, who had died thousands of years ago. I had spoken to him before the battle. 

"Gust of Wind Dance!"

Of course this is not the last battle. I would not be in it if it was something that important. I was never a vital part in anything important. I am too insignificant for that. I have never been the best at anything in my life. I was only a burden in the Dragon Campaign, and then Michael had to protect me later on.

"Hex Hammer!"

And then…the Black Monster.

Dart would run his sword through me if he knew what I knew of the Black Monster.

"Bone Crush!"

My thoughts stray back to the Dragon Campaign, and the days when I was with everyone else. Everyone else that was dead now. Kanzas, Syuveil, Belzac, Damia, Shirley…and Zieg.

He had been dangerously beautiful, with silky blonde hair the color of honey in the shade. Soft hair, pulled away from his face by a headband somewhat like the one Dart wore. Deep knowing eyes that seemed to stretch on forever, holding infinite wisdom and compassion. I could never forget him. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face. 

And then I would see when Melbu Frahma's spell turned him to stone, his hand still outstretched. And myself, younger, paler, darker, all at the same time, being pulled away from him. Unable to save the life of the one I loved most. Useless! 

Every time I saw that I wanted to sink my blade into my own heart.

But I couldn't. Because I still had a promise to fulfill.

"Perky Step!" 

I gasp in my breath in a sharp hiss as Lloyd's sword tears a ragged long gash from my upper left arm to my collarbone. I step back several paces, grabbing a healing item and swallowing it, letting its white energy spread to the wound, helping to close it. I resume my spot next to Dart, in front of all the others.

"Gust of Wind Dance!"

I turn my head slightly to look at these new Dragoons. Powerful, noble, strong. Compassionate. I was starting to see things in them that I had never noticed before.

When Lavitz, Dart, and I had traveled to the Shirley Temple to find the Dragoni Plant, Shirley had said that these warriors, these new Dragoons, would illuminate the dark road, and that Dart would awaken the old me. And indeed, this prophecy had come true.

The new Dragoons had grown much stronger. Soon, they wouldn't need my guidance anymore. They were almost strong enough.

"Demon's Dance!"

It had started out as a mission to save Shana, and evolved into a fatal quest to save the world. As soon as the Dragon Buster had been brandished, I knew that things would get much worse, and much deeper. It had been inevitable.

"Madness Hero!"

Lloyd had been counterattacking all this while with devastating attacks that wounds everyone and wearies us. But he is tiring too; it is obvious. His movements are growing sluggish, and his breathing ragged. Skilled as he is, he is simply outnumbered.

When Lloyd drops to one knee, Dart clutches his sword at his side and walks over to him, dramatically. His eyes are narrowed, and his lips are set. There is anger in his eyes, anger at Lloyd killing Lavitz, Lloyd destroying Neet, Lloyd stealing the Divine Moon Objects…

Too bad. I admire Lloyd in a way. He is an excellent warrior, though with a scrambled code of honor, and like a tall slender silver flame. But what needs to be done…

Dart's fist tightens around the hilt of the sword. Lloyd only stares up with resigned eyes, still spiteful, but understanding. He had been defeated fairly, and now he would have to pay for it.

Dart raises the sword upward.

At the corner of my sight, there is a flash of green light, brilliant as a wave in the sunlight, and then the Third Sacred Sister Wink is standing there, her eyes just opening, looking like a ruffled baby bird. 

She takes in the scene with one glance, and her eyes immediately rush to Lloyd. "No!" She shrieks, running forward.

The blade comes down.

There is a slash of metal through flesh, and a scream of pain, but not the cracking of armor.

Wink had thrown herself in front of Lloyd at the last minute, shielding her love with her own body. The blade of Dart's sword had cut a nasty line across her back, and the blonde woman is weakening.

"Wink!" Dart gasps, disbelief at what he had just done. 

Miranda looks up sharply from where she is kneeling, tending to Queen Theresa, and watches her fellow Sacred Sister through narrowed liquid eyes. 

Lloyd is holding Wink by the shoulders, keeping her steady. Wink's head is tilted down at the floor, her eyes half closed and tired, weak.

"Please…" Wink begs. "Forgive Lloyd."

When the platinum-haired Wingly speaks, it is in a soft voice, doubtful, unsure, almost gentle. "Why?" he asks, looking at her with something almost like kindness in his eyes. "Why did you save me? I used you as a pawn. I tricked you."

Wink lifts her head and smiles up at him.

Lloyd shakes her slightly, as if demanding an answer. "Why? Why did you shield me? I took many people's lives away for my own ideal and the Divine Moon Objects. I used you."

"Even if it is the truth…" Wink speaks in ragged gasps. "The fact that you saved me is still true! Besides, your death won't solve anything." 

"Come on." Albert says quietly to the rest of us. "This moment is for them. Dart still has to settle things."

Along with Queen Theresa, all of us follow the king to the teleporter, except for Wink, Lloyd, and Dart. I hesitate for a moment, watching as Dart stands to the side, listening as Lloyd and Wink speak. 

But there is one thing I don't understand. I turn to the King of Serdio.

"Albert, don't you need to be upstairs? Lloyd killed…Lavitz." Don't you want revenge?

"I trust Dart with everything." Albert replies with confidence. "He will bring us the right answer."

I look up at the tower. "I agree."

"I feel the same way." Haschel accedes.

"Ditto!" Meru chirps.

Kongol only nods.

"I hope Wink is all right." I am not sure whether it is Miranda or Queen Theresa that says it; their voices are alike.

After a few minutes, the teleporter shimmers again with the green light, and then the three people appear. Dart has an unreadable expression in his eyes, and Wink is leaning slightly on Lloyd, who also has the same mysterious expression.

"Shana's been taken." Dart says simply.

"Shana…oh I see." Albert nods.

"Emperor Diaz is doing his own dirty work now." 

Oh so that was the expression on his face.

"He said that you were to bring Lloyd and the three Divine Moon Objects to Vellweb." Wink reports, her breath very slight.

No, not Vellweb!

"When we go there, we can reveal the truth about Emperor Diaz." I say. This is what has been confusion me the most. 

"Whoever he is, he is dangerous." Albert agrees.

"It is unforgivable to take our dear Shana as a hostage for his utopia or whatever." Haschel exclaims.

Dart turns to the Queen of Mille Seseau. "Queen Theresa, we are heading to Vellweb, and we need the Moon…"

The female sovereign nods. "I understand." She says softly. "I will let you have the Moon Mirror." She shakes her head, looking in the direction of Deningrad. "Maybe we were in denial surrounding ourselves with a comfortable life that really was stagnant. Yes, we humans are not the only species… and all species were given life by Soa's plan. Now is the time! The assault of the Divine Dragon, the existence of Winglies, the Divine Moon Objects, the utopia that Lloyd and Emperor Diaz desire." She turns her gentle face toward us. "And you, Dragoons. Everything is forcing us to remember it. As if things were manipulated by some great will called fate."

Nicely said.

"Even if so, I don't care." Dart declares passionately. "I will take Shana back even from Fate!"

The Queen smiles. "Miranda, you are one of the Dragoons. Go with Dart. Discover the meaning of the fate given by Soa."

The blonde woman only nods.

Belatedly, the knights of Deningrad, of Mille Seseau, appear behind us. Reluctantly, Miranda releases her gentle but firm hold on the Queen, and speaks rapidly to the guards with a clipped voice.

Bowing, the bronze-clad knights help the Queen to her feet, and the others bring in a stretcher and medical help for Wink.

"We will get them back to safety as quickly as possible." The guard says and then hastily adds, "We will protect them with our lives."

Miranda's eyes narrow, but she watches the knights leave with her 'family'.

After they are gone from sight, as if they were only a distraction, the seven members of the party turn to look at Lloyd.

Though wounded and tired, the Wingly does not flinch or squirm under our scrutinizing gaze. He stands tall and proud, gazing back with clear defiance. 

"You're going to have to travel with us." Dart says flatly.

"I know that." Lloyd answers just as flatly.

"If you do anything that seems the least bit treacherous, I'll kill you, truce or not."

Lloyd glares back, unwavering.

"This is only temporary. After this, I'll still kill you if I ever see you." The red clad warrior says, and then pauses, and speaks almost pleasantly, as if that conversation had not taken place. 

"Lead the way."

****

Author's note: Well, what do you think? Like it or hate it? Please review. If there are any comments or questions please email me at [TruthofIllusion@aol.com][1]**. I love feedback! **

   [1]: mailto:TruthofIllusion@aol.com



	5. The Truth

The normal path to get to Vellweb would to be to get back on the main road and steer clear of the Kashua Glacier, going around it.

However, Lloyd takes the shortcut. Instead of going back to the main road, he leads us to simply cut through the rest of the Glacier, several of us slipping on the ice and steadying ourselves before we fall into the chasms.

The ice slowly turns to snow, but a blizzard is rising. Shards of ice cut into my face, so that I abandon my grip on the hilt of my sword to shield my eyes.

"We won't get too far in this storm!" Albert yells over the howling wind.

"Let's just go a little farther!" Dart shouts back. "There's nowhere to hide!"

So we walk along a little further, our hands away from our weapons to protect our eyes from the storm. I keep everyone in my line of sight. I cannot afford to lose a single one of them, Lloyd included. 

"Dart!" I yell, jabbing one finger through the whiteness at a dark spot against the side. 

Lloyd has one hand in front of his eyes, and he does not shout, but his voice carries the distance to everyone. "We can take shelter in there. I have something to tell you before we go to Vellweb. It's about Diaz."

Dart makes a gesture at everyone else, and we struggle through the knee deep snow until we reach the cave and duck inside. 

"Whew!" Haschel breathes out sharply as he settles himself on a rock. Probably a sign of pain.

"It's cold out there!" Meru comments, huddling in front of the makeshift fire from the Red-Eyed Dragoon Spirit.

Well, you don't wear too much. What did you expect?

The others are complaining as they sit in front of the fire, except for Lloyd and Dart.

The slender Wingly is still in his battle armor, leaning his back against the stone wall of the cave. He shows no sign of fatigue or pain or cold. He only glares at the fire, unreadable thoughts going on in his head.

And Dart is glaring at Lloyd, obviously still not trusting him. His hand rests on the hilt of his sword, ready if the time should come.

For some reason, I am not wary of Lloyd. No doubt he could defeat me in battle, but I am not afraid. He seems not to be planning treachery, but is genuinely following us, or at least until this truce ends. 

Dart is looking at me, asking my opinion. I tilt my head to the side just fractionally, and the warrior loosens his grip on his sword.

"Can I ask you one question?"

Lloyd shifts his eyes slightly. "Yes."

"Why did you save Wink twice?"

The swordsman looks away. "I had no reason for doing that."

"I see…"

After a moment of silence, Albert asks Lloyd quietly, "Why are you following Emperor Diaz?"

The platinum-haired man shifts his glare from the fire to the king, and answers in a flat tone. "It's for my utopia."

"Utopia?" Half the others echo.

"Yes." Lloyd answers, looking at all of them. "My utopia. To help save the world."

No one needs to ask him why. The world truly is a disgusting place. All the killing, and the Black Monster…

"The world isn't all bad." Meru chirps, trying to be optimistic.

No one answers her.

So Lloyd isn't evil at all. He just wants to reshape the world. In fact, he's a noble chivalrous person that went a little bit off the track.

"Emperor Diaz promised to help me with my utopia. So I did what he wanted. I got the girl, and I stole the Divine Moon Objects."

"But…" Dart falters. "Lavitz…and Neet…"

Lloyd shakes his head. "Your friend Lavitz was in my way. But…as for Neet…I lied to you. I never went to Neet. I'm not the Black Monster."

This new revelation stuns the red-clad warrior. For so long, he has searched Endiness for the Black Monster that destroyed his hometown. After eighteen years, he finally found him, or at least, someone he thought was the Black Monster. He had thought his quest ended. But…now he finds out that Lloyd is in fact not the Black Monster. His quest for revenge, or whatever he shall do when he finally meets that demon, is not over and must begin again.

"Death gives birth to tears. And tears give birth to anger. When anger turns itself into rancor, it opens to war." Lloyd continues to speak about the golden age that he wishes to create in place of our world, of his utopia. He talks about how Diaz promised to revive the last species so that they could rearrange the world. 

"The Moon Child of the legend is the last species." Lloyd states.

"That's not true." I say from the back of the cave, firmly. 

"That is the truth." Lloyd argues calmly. "Why does the Black Monster continue to kill the Moon Child?"

"…"

Lloyd looks at the cave wall. "That devil wants to stop the evolution after imagining himself scorched to death by the blessed light brought by the last species."

"Lloyd." Dart calls sharply. "What is the relationship between the Divine Moon Objects you have been pursuing and the birth of the Moon Child." 

"The Winglies feared their status as the supreme species would end, and they sealed up the 108th species. The keys to dissolving the signet are the Gem, Dagger, and Mirror named after the Moon."

"You were going to release the Moon Child, in other words, the God, by using the Divine moon Objects." Albert concludes.

Lloyd looks at him gravely. "If I don't do it somebody else will. Even the last god cannot escape from the fate determined by Soa. That's all I wanted to tell you. The rest will be told by Diaz."

Dart runs over and grabs his armor. "If you desire a utopia, why did you take Shana away?! What is Shana to you?!" 

Albert and I gently pry Dart's hands from the Wingly's armor and push him back. 

"Everything will be answered in Vellweb." Lloyd says simply.

I notice that the other team members do not look at him with such hatred or spite anymore. Of course, they still hold a grudge for what he had done to Lavitz, but…they have learned that he is not the ultimate evil.

Perhaps this Emperor Diaz is.

Also by the time the story is over, the blizzard has ended. 

Meru runs out, sinking in the snow and twirling around. "Wow! The snow stopped!"

"Our traveling will be easier without the weather to hamper us." Miranda states.

"We have to get on our way now." Dart says. "Let's go."

Our party, now numbering eight, continues the trek through the snowfields, with Meru in another one of her happy moods, constantly pirouetting or singing as she skips along. She is still a child.

Haschel lags along at the back, kicking at the snow. Earlier on, he had said that being around young people reminded him of Claire. But he pauses, reading a wooden sign, muttering to himself.

As I watch, his eyes widen, and he yells up the path at Meru, who is the farthest along of us. "Meru, don't!"

But the dancer is spinning again, and this time she is too close to the edge, seemingly strong enough, but composed only of soft snow.

"Aaahh!" She shrieks, tumbling down the slope.

There is a rumbling above. Meru's scream has caused an avalanche, with the snow so loose so soon after the heavy blizzard. 

"Look out!"

Stooping down and wrapping my hands around my head, I wait for the snow slide to come down. It will not hurt. I have been studying the slope. It is not steep and there is a thick packet of snow on the bottom. We shall simply have to climb back up.

The snow slides under my feet, carrying me down the slope so that I end up comfortably on my back. 

I climb to my feet, brushing myself off. 

"Is everyone all right?" Dart asks immediately.

"Yeah." 

"Sure."

"Hey, look, there's writing here! I think it's Wingly writing!" Meru exclaims, jumping and pointing at a stone slab with three forms of writing on it. She does not seem fazed by the avalanche. The path up is right next to her. 

Meru peers at the carved writing on the slab. "Wow…it must be really old. I think it's archaic. I can't understand it."

"Giganto writing too." Kongol comments, looking at the carvings. "Kongol doesn't understand. Gigantos lose to books."

Dart moves forward. "There's human writing too, but it's weird. I can't read it. Can you read it, Rose?"

Well, now he understands.

I toss my hair over my shoulder, black against the white, and walk up to the stone slab, ducking past the three studying. The slab is not actually stone at all, but a door filled with magic, a transporter to somewhere. 

Skimming the writing quickly, I read out loud, "'The cursed land where the decline of the Winglies began. Nobody is allowed to touch the door. The judge Nomos at the court of Zenebatos'."

I turn around to see the others looking at me strangely.

"How is it that the Wingly and Giganto and Human writing is too faded and archaic for us to read, and yet you can still read it?" Albert asks.

I've read many in my time.

"I don't know." I dodge the question, shrugging casually.

He is frowning. "Wasn't Zenebatos…"

"One of the five major Wingly cities in the Dragon Campaign, yes." I answer. "Whether or not it still exists, no one knows."

Again the puzzled looks.

"Anyway," Lloyd interrupts. "The path leading back up to Vellweb is over there."

"You guys go ahead. I want to check something out." I say quietly, moving fluidly toward another pathway, half covered in snow. "There is something I want to find out." 

"Rose, wait!" Dart calls. "Wait. I'll go with you."

The pathway is short, leading out of sight around a curve and into a clearing with the open sky above. The stone paths wind down, uncovered by snow, leading to an icy raised platform with a stone throne on it.

We are in Gloriano now. We have left Mille Seseau and are now in Gloriano. Vellweb is only a few days away.

"You said it is Fort Magrad?" Dart's voice echoes in the emptiness. "Is this one of the Winglies' ruins too?"

I shake my head. "No. It belonged to Humans. It was the land where Diaz declared war against the Wlingiles with tens of thousands of soldiers and seven Dragoons. I heard about it."

Back then…when Diaz announced the upcoming war…I had been afraid. Dragoons are descending here in the place again.

I can still hear Diaz's voice. 

"What we desire is freedom!! Or give us death!!"

And the Humans cheering him. "God bless Diaz! God bless Gloriano!" 

"I am to bring light to the Human's future! I am the pass judgment on the past of the Wlinglies! I am Diaz!!"

"God bless Diaz! God bless Gloriano!"

I gasp slightly as I am pulled out of my reverie.

"Rose?" Dart is calling my name. "Is anything wrong?"

I shake my head, dazed. "No, nothing."

Leaving my sword in its sheath, I ignore Dart and walk up to the throne, kneeling before it, placing one hand on the foot of the throne. 

"…"

Another flashback tears through my mind.

Zieg and I had spoken to Emperor Diaz, in this very spot before the last battle. We had knelt right where I am standing, and Emperor Diaz in the throne.

We had fought for Gloriano. When the Winglies burned down this fourth continent, Humans rebelled, with Emperor Diaz in the lead. Now…now it is nothing but a deserted land not fit for living. Desert and glacier, that is all the great continent now is. 

And it was during that war, that Emperor Diaz announced our fates.

"You. I heard that you are going to have a wedding after this battle." Emperor Diaz commented. He was a large man, staring down at us from the throne.

"Yes." We both answered.

"There is no guarantee of coming back alive." Diaz was not being harsh; he was merely stating the harsh truth. It was his way of helping us. 

It was Zieg that answered him. "Even if one of us dies, our bonds of affection are forever."

I had looked at him with tears in my eyes. My voice was soft; it was always soft and gentle back then. "Zieg."

"Your eyes are already looking at our future!" Diaz accused. "Then I will realize the future for you!"

But I didn't hear him. He was right; I was looking at the future.

And Emperor Diaz only shook his head.

"Rose?"

Dart's voice stuns me out of my painful flashback.

If only I had managed to save him…I would still have him. We were going to get married after the battle…Gods, I miss him with a pain that seems almost physical.

I take my hand off the throne, turning to face Dart.

He takes half a step back. It is not that I look angry, but he knows, as a fellow Dragoon, or perhaps as something else, he can sense that something is wrong. No tears come to my eyes, but I am sure that he can sense them within me. 

"Sometimes, I don't know." he says softly. "Sometimes I wonder if you are really the Rose that I know."

I try to conjure up a weak smile, not from my lips. "I am…just me." I reply. "Come. There is nothing here anymore."

Nodding assent, we return to the others. 

"What happened? What did you see?" Meru asks. I walk past her, heading up the path.

Dart shakes his head.

"So she just decided to go sightseeing?" Miranda asks, but her voice is not annoyed, only mildly curious.

I stay silent all through the rest of the journey to Vellweb.

"There it is. That's the capital Vellweb." Lloyd states. 

Vellweb almost blended in with the rest of the desert. It had been two days ago that the iceland faded into desert. The…city itself was crumbling. It wasn't a city as much as it was a giant ruin. 

Vellweb…

I clamp my lips tightly together as we travel down the dusty slopes into the ruins. One of the five Wingly cities, fallen after the Dragon Campaign.

"The seven towers…" Dart is referring to the seven towers in the distance. "Is Diaz waiting for us somewhere in there?"

"That is the tower of the seven Dragoons. The throne of the Holy Emperor is underneath there." Lloyd explains.

"We are standing at the legendary place where Humans began their liberation." Albert says in awe. "I wonder if it is an abominable place."

"You think too much!" Meru remarks, trying to be lighthearted. "It's the same as Kadessa, isn't it? When you drag the past around, you cannot walk anywhere."

"It is true, Meru. The Forbidden Land that was the royal capital of the Winglies. And this Vellweb is a mere historic ruin."

"Yes." Dart takes one step forward. "We can do nothing but settle for the present."

At the entrance, Shirley appears. 

"I've been waiting for you." She whispers.

"Shirley!" Dart gasps. 

"Shirley, why?" I ask her. "Why are you here? Didn't you say you were going to leave?"

She turns her shining-light face toward me. "I had something to take care of here in Vellweb. I couldn't leave the trapped souls alone in this world."

"Are you talking about…?" 

"Yes. The four souls of the Dragoons who lost their lives during the Dragon Campaign." The spirit of her hovers there, floating red hair around her sad face. "I've anchored their souls here. After you are finished speaking with Diaz, please free the souls of the four lost Dragoons. I couldn't leave them here." She pleads, and disappears.

Of course…the souls of Damia, Belzac, Syuveil, Kanzas. Shirley is so kind…she is their guardian. She would never leave them trapped here.

"What was that?" Haschel asks.

"We can't bother with that now. We have to deal with Diaz first." Dart says. "Lloyd, you know the way."

Wordlessly, Lloyd continues through the weaving maze of paths.

There had been so many memories here…my head feels as if it is going to explode with all the thoughts flying around in my mind.

"Diaz is in there." Lloyd finally says, pointing to a door.

For the first time, anxiety fills me. I had never thought of it before.

Could it be possible that it is truly Diaz in there? Is it actually him? If it is, what must we do? Destroy him? For the utopia that Lloyd wishes is not what Diaz is thinking…I have lived longer than Lloyd, and I know what the Divine Moon Objects truly mean…

Deciding not to think, about anything, I follow Dart into the room.

There is a canyon about five meters across separating this side of the room from the other. The other side is more only a wall, and Shana floats in front of the throne, unconscious, sleeping peacefully.

Carved into the wall is a throne, with only three feet of platform in front of it.

Sitting on the throne is Emperor Diaz.

Or at least, someone who looks extremely like Emperor Diaz. Right down to the very armor and mask and outfit. The plump rounded body in the long white gown. Red shoulder armor, and a matching red mask that covers his entire face. How he sees past it, I do not know.

I gasp.

"Shana!" Dart yells.

Lloyd brushes past all of us, kneeling in front of the canyon, speaking to Emperor Diaz.

"Diaz. Here are all three Divine Moon Objects." The Wingly pulls them out and holds them up. "There are no more obstacles to hinder our utopia. Release the girl."

Diaz uses his power to levitate the Divine Moon Objects to him, catching them and placing them in his wide outfit. "Fine."

Shana floats toward us, and drops. Dart moves forward swiftly and catches her, stumbling before regaining his balance. Quickly, he leans her against the wall and yells up at Diaz. 

"Diaz! What are you going to do with the Divine Moon Objects?!"

The man that may or may not be Diaz answers smoothly. He even sounds like Diaz. But shouldn't he recognize me? "Didn't you hear it from Lloyd? My only desire is the advent of the last species." 

I decide it is time to speak. It is time for all of them to know the truth. I step forward, acting defiant even though I am quivering inside. Could this be the real Diaz? How could he have survived 11,000 years without the… My voice is loud and clear. "If you are the true Diaz, you should know what that implies."

Diaz nods and answers almost cheerfully. 

"Total destruction."

I have the satisfaction of seeing Lloyd surprised. The swordsman steps back and gasps. "Wha-what do you…?"

Diaz smiles behind his red mask. "Lloyd. Well done bringing me the Moon Gem, Moon Dagger, and Moon Mirror. Now we can let the Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction, the last species we desire, the true Virage, arise. I will create the utopia you wanted, after the Virage Embryo purges the world."

I turn to Lloyd. "Everything so far was an overture to that, Lloyd. He showed you a false utopia from the beginning."

Lloyd is glaring at Diaz. "You deceived me. My utopia exists in the future of this world. What I desire is the creation of the future, not the destruction of the world." The Dragon Buster is unsheathed in his hand.

Diaz speaks harshly. "I don't need you anymore."

Just as Lloyd is leaping up to attack, Diaz forms an energy sphere and blasts the platinum-haired Wingly.

The force of the attack knocks Lloyd down to the ground, and farther. The ground crumbles and Lloyd falls into the canyon. Still weak from the battle days ago, his wings fail him, and he tumbles out of sight.

Lloyd!

"Diaz!" Dart yells, pulling out his sword. "What are you thinking?!" 

Diaz stands up in a fluid motion. "I don't need to hide anymore."

His hands move up to remove the mask. 

Finally. For the moment of truth. Is it really Diaz?

Shana groans as she awakens. "What?"

"It's been a while." Diaz says, unfastening the mask. "Rose. Dart."

Why does he call Dart?

The mask comes off and the face is revealed.

****

My hands reaching for his, quickly turning to stone.

"Let go. Save yourself."

The rock knocking into my arm, him torn away. 

"Zieg!!!"

"Oh! It cannot be!"

But I am not—cannot be—wrong. The silky brown hair had faded gold-silver with the years, and the impeccable soft skin is lined with creases of age, but the liquid eyes are still bright, and even though he must have doubled his age, there is no mistaking him.

Zieg.

Oh gods above…how is this possible? 

The full force of the situation hits me, and I stumble to my knees. The "reincarnated Emperor Diaz" is, in actuality, my long-lost love. Somehow he had found a way to break the curse, and now he is back. 

As my enemy.

Anything else I had been prepared for. But not—never—this.

Oh gods, I have to fight the one person who is more important to me than my life. I have to fight the love that I lost 11,000 years ago.

If it had been back in the Dragon Campaign, I would have flung myself at his feet and obeyed him without a question. His meek, loyal, loving servant. 

But…

Oh no…

My raging internal battle is blissfully interrupted by Dart's voice, incredulous and amazed.

"Father?! Is that really you, Dad?!"

Father. So Dart had been Zieg's son. No wonder I thought them so alike. No surprise I was attracted to him. …Who had been the mother?

Part of me is in shrieking delight that Zieg is alive after the battle. Part of me is in frustrated anger that he did not try to seek me out over the thousands of years that I have mourned his "death". Another part of me is deeply hurt that I did not mean enough to him, that he took another woman for his wife. I feel an anguished despair that I will have to fight Zieg, because I still love him.

And perhaps…most of all…I feel fear, because I don't know what to do. I had made many decisions before in my life, and for the first time in my long life…I do not know whwat to do.

My words leap out of my throat without my thinking of them. 

"You died! With Melbu Frahma on each other's swords!!" I scream, my words desperate, seemingly trying to persuade myself instead of him that this is not true.

But it truly is him. I could never forget him. He could be in a totally different body, or aged so many years, and yet I would still know him.

Dart looks at me strangely. "Rose, what are you talking about?"

Zieg smiles. His smile has not changed. He looks so graceful there, with the red shoulder armor and the white robe that is too large for him, flowing down around him. "Now I can tell you everything…

"The beginning of the world was an absolute nothingness…darkness. The Creator Soa sowed a seed to the Earth. This is the plan of Soa, that created all species. The birth of the Divine Tree… 

"Eventually the fruit of the Divine Tree ripened and fell to the ground to fill the world with life. Gigantos from the 97th fruit. Minintos from the 99th fruit. Dragons from the 105th fruit… And at the end, the Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction, was to be born from the 108th fruit. Soa desired the destruction and regeneration of the world by the Virage Embryo, the god of destruction. However 11,000 years ago, Winglies found out the tragedy waiting for them, and sealed the 108th fruit by separating the flesh and the soul. The flesh of the god, the flesh of the Virage Embryo, was taken away from the Winglies as the Moon That Never Sets that glows in the sky.

"And the soul of the god was captured in the Crystal Sphere, and Melbu Frahma kept it. Yes, to withdraw unlimited power from that, and to conquer the other creatures. However, even with unlimited magic power, the domination was not eternal. Humans arose with the Dragoons in front. Nothing was their match because they obtained the power of the Dragon. 

"And finally, they drove Melbu Frahma into a corner. I felt certain of human… my victory." Zieg corrects himself smoothly. "And it was in the next moment, the spell of petrification cast by Melbu Frahma, captured me. I have waited 11,000 years.

"Time, almost eternal, dissolved the spell of Melbu Frahma and I was released from captivity. Days spent with Rose became the eternal past. And I lived as the father of Dart in this age. Until the tragic day in Neet."

"I cannot believe it." I state firmly, louder than I need to. I refuse to believe it!

"I am here, that is a fact." Zieg replies.

"Then," Dart swivels his head back and forth, staring from Zieg to me. "Then both Dad and Rose…are the heroes of the Dragon Campaign?!"

"Yes, but that is not all." Zieg resumes the story. "Humans made a mistake. Silly humans destroyed the Crystal Sphere, which was the container of the the soul, along with the royal capital Kadessa. The Virage Embryo, the god of destruction, was exultant. It could now be born. The free soul released from the Crystal Sphere started to wander. In order to go back to the body left in the Moon That Never Sets to be born as the last god, to destroy the world. 

"The soul without a body possesses a human body and heads for the Moon That Never Sets by repeating the transmigration every 108 years. You now know. The soul of the god of destruction is the Moon Child. The truth of the Moon Child in the legend.

"Count every 108 years, and when the Moon That Never Sets glares red, the Moon Child shall descend upon the land and give a holy blessing ot the world. The holy blessing is the destruction. The destruction is Soa's will. That is…the fate that rules the future of the world."

What happened to you, Zieg? You never used to be like this. You were never one to submit to Fate. You don't believe this destruction crap, do you? Please tell me you are joking. Please come back to me.

Zieg turns away. "But there was one Dragoon who found out about it. In order to deter the birth of the God of Destruction, she has had to kill the Moon Children."

No please don't.

"By stopping her own time. She was even called a demon."

Zieg…**please**…

"That is the story of Rose…"

I shut my eyes.

"…The Black Monster!" 

Even with my eyes closed, I can see what happens.

Dart turns around to look at me, eyes wide and full of pain. The sword drops out of his hands, clattering with an eternal echo on the ground. 

"Rose…is…the Black Monster…?" he repeats stupidly, in disbelief.

I turn my face away from him. Now you understand why I couldn't tell you about the Black Monster, Dart.

He moves forward and grabs my shoulders, turning me forcefully so that I must face him. His eyes are full of incredible sadness, pleading, imploring for the truth not to be real.

I look at him for only a second before turning my face again, trying to wiggle out of his grip and failing. "The Moon Child has to be killed. And the people around it too, before they become the servants of the god of destruction."

Dart's grip seems to tighten and relax at the same time. His voice is thick with tears. "N-Neet…too?"

I slide out of his grip, too weak to look him in the eyes. When I speak, my voice is callous and harsh, a sheet of titanium buried in a glacier of ice and snow. My cold exterior is the only thing I can cling to, before I fall into the abyss without my Dragoon wings to fly. Dart deserves to know the truth.

"For 11,000 years, there have been no exceptions."

Dart stumbles back, bent over like he is going to retch, but hands over his face like he is going to cry. His voice is thick and muffled. 

"God!" he screams. "Why you?! Why do you have to be the Black Monster?!"

I'm sorry, Dart. I'm so, so sorry…

Zieg smiles, that enchanting smile that still captivates me. "That's it." 

From her place against the wall, Shana groans again, and goes limp in the eerie grip of telekinesis. Zieg makes a sharp gesture with his arm, and the unconscious girl's body flies toward him to hover in front of him.

"What are you going to do?!" Dart demands at his father.

Zieg smiles again. "Let me tell you one more truth. Rose, you thought the Princess Louvia you killed eighteen years ago was the Moon Child, but it is not true."

My head snaps back to the man garbed in red armor. "!?" 

Zieg's lips pull back in another smile, not the enchanting one, but more like a wolf getting ready for the kill. His words are slow and deliberate. "Louvia…had a twin sister."

I gasp. "N-No!" 

No! All my hard work! All my sacrifices!

"Shana is the Moon Child!" Zieg declares. "Shana is…the soul of the Virage Embryo, the god of destruction! I'll dissolve the Signet of the Moon That Never Sets, and cross it with the Moon Child. Now, I have everything in my hands."

"Release Shana!" Dart commands, picking up his sword.

"And are you going to kill her?" Zieg's voice is amused. "To save the world?"

I'm sorry Shana, but this is what I must do. For the sake of the world.

"I'll kill her!" I snarl, drawing my sword and pushing myself off the ground, clawing toward the girl hovering in the air. 

Another brilliant energy sphere forms in Zieg's hands, and he fires it toward me. Just before my blade enters Shana's flesh, the magical weapon strikes the center of my chest, knocking me back.

"This," Zieg says scornfully. "Is the limitation of humans."

"Zieg!!!" I cry. "Why?!" You were never like this before!

But he answers not from the past. "All is the will of the creator, Soa. My hands start the world; my hands end the world. Yes! Fate desires it!"

With that explanation, Zieg—and Shana—rise into the air, flying out the open ceiling and away from Vellweb. Zieg didn't even need to use wings. His power has grown so much.

"Dad!" Dart yells. "Wait! Shana!!"

Only the eerie silence of the Vellweb ruins answers him. 

When he pivots sharply, I can see his eyes. Fear for Shana. Amazement for his father. And for me…

Utter and total hatred.


	6. Old Memories

****

Ulara and Rouge

No one spoke as we left Vellweb. 

__

Well, at least they know the truth now. I had always been frightened that they would find out. Now I don't have to hide anything.

Who am I kidding? I'm screaming inside.

So the seven of us left Vellweb toward the southeast, to the Death Frontier. All of them look pale and thin-lipped, obscurely frightened.

How much they regret being nice to me, I'm sure. Offering me the green cape in the snowfields in case I was cold in my thin armor, or trying to talk to me about my mysterious ways. And Haschel, always trying to decode my secret.

__

Well now he knows.

I am the despised Black Monster from their legends, the demon that kills every 108 years no matter what. I am the one that Lloyd called a devil, destroying entire towns. I am the Black Monster that they feared and hated for so long, the object for revenge that Dart has been hunting for eighteen years.

None of them look composed. They all seem frightened.

Except Dart.

Dart walks as if his legs are stone, the hilt of his sword gripped tightly in his hand, partly out of its sheath. He stares straight ahead, jaws clenched tightly as if to restrain himself.

It is at the border of the Death Frontier when it happens.

Dart stops abruptly, kicking up desert sand. Unable to control my own body, I stop walking as well.

With the crash of steel scraping steel, the sword slides out of its sheath. His entire body is tense and ready for battle. 

And his eyes show none of the amused curiosity that he had every time he spoke to me, or the patient lecturing when he told me not to kill someone. None of the gratitude when I told him that I had saved him from the depths of the ocean, or the warm love that he showed me as a fellow companion.

Instead the only thing there is uncloaked hatred. 

The others pause too, their heads looking from the Fire Dragoon to the Darkness Dragoon.

"You guys go ahead." Dart commands through clenched teeth, every word an icicle driving into the ground.

"Dart!" Meru gasps. 

"Dart, you can't do this." Haschel protests calmly.

"I agree. This is not the way." Albert says quickly and nervously. 

"Go." Dart repeats, more forcefully. "Get out of here. This is something that is between the two of us." 

Squirming nervously, the five of them scatter away, further into the Death Frontier.

Dart watches them until they disappear from sight, and then turns back to me. The setting sun glints off his hair, but the shining anger and disgust in his eyes is not a reflection of the light. 

__

Dart…please don't hate me. Please don't be angry with me. I only did what needed to be done. I had no choice! Please… I plead with him, but keeping my face cold as always. I cannot afford for him to see me weak. 

The steel in his eyes tells me he is not going to back down.

Shamefully, I lower my eyes. 

When night falls, we return to the others, locating them by the fire in the distance.

"Dart? Rose?" Meru asks nervously, shifting from one foot to the other as we approach.

Dart ignores her as he walks past her and sits on the side.

"Rose? What happened?"

I shake my head, moving to sit next to the fire.

There are a few moments of awkward silence before Kongol clears his throat, a giant rumbling. "No need to return. The city of Winglies, Rose said, is just over there." 

__

Ulara…the only place I can turn to if I need help. Maybe my…maybe they can help us…me.

"What was it called, Ulara?" Haschel asks. "I hope they know what we should do there."

__

I hope so too.

Trying to lessen the tension in the air, Meru tries to make a conversation. "It turns out that Lloyd wasn't so bad after all."

"And neither is Rose." Albert says quietly.

__

No one shall thank you for that. I tell him with my eyes.

"He's right." Haschel finally says. "Rose, why didn't you _tell _us?"

I shake my head. "I could not. It is not of your concern. But…"

"You're not evil." Albert says. "You're not the Black Monster. The Black Monster, it seems, is not the devil that everyone inferred it was."

I keep my eyes on a pile of sand in front of me.

"Rose? Why don't you tell us?" Meru says, gently. "It will help you."

I lift my eyes slightly to meet her. Her face is open, sincere, honest. 

I sigh imperceptibly and begin to speak. "I found out the true meaning of the prophecy after the Dragon Campaign. I knew that the holy blessing did not mean eternal bliss, but total destruction of the world. I…I couldn't let that happen. Not after all the killing that I had seen. My friends, the original Dragoons, took the world back. And because of a prophecy, the world was going to end? No. So I…I took matters into my own hands. I had to stop the holy blessing from happening, so I had to kill the Moon Child.

"For 11,000 years I did not stop. As soon as the Moon That Never Sets glared red, I set out to find the Moon Child. I killed the baby to prevent the prophecy from coming true. The last time it was Princess Louvia of Mille Seseau…or so I thought. I had not calculated that there be a twin. I killed her for nothing then." I take a deep breath. 

"And that's how it always has been. Since 11,000 years ago, I've had to stop the prophecy from coming true by killing the Moon Child every 108 years." I conclude. 

"You really fought in the Dragon Campaign?" Albert questions.

"I am not lying. I remember the fighting. I remember the deaths." I gesture to my sword, shining in the night. "I remember the gleam of red against the silver of my blade."

Albert winces. He has loved studying the Dragon Campaign, and yet he never experienced the deaths in it, so he can never truly understand.

Kongol and Miranda and Dart have been keeping silent. Kongol perhaps because he does not usually talk, but as for the other two…

I rise from the fire and walk into the shadows, making an excuse that I wanted to sleep.

But I sit down in the cool sand; I tuck my knees up to my chest and put my arms around them, resting my chin on my elbows.

__

This goes beyond me now. All my work, the killings for the past 108 years will have been useless is Zieg succeeds in bringing Shana to the Moon That Never Sets, in combining the soul of the Virage Embryo with the body. If that happens, Virages from the Moon shall awaken and destroy the world.

This goes beyond me now. The past 11,000 years that I have spent mourning over his death will have been useless. Because Zieg is somehow back in the world of the living, and I must destroy him for the sake of the world.

This goes beyond me now. It is not my decision to make, and yet my choice will effect the outcome.

The world…or Zieg?

The team spends an entire two weeks in the Death Frontier, because the distance is so great and we are constantly getting lost. 

Even though I could find the way to Ulara with my eyes closed, I do not say anything. I do not think they would want my help at this point. 

And for these past two weeks, things have been different.

Meru, Albert, and Haschel look at me with a sort of respect mixed in with fear. Kongol is stoic as always. Miranda and I stay away from each other, and that is no change.

But Dart…Dart has been avoiding me, and I him. What had happened two weeks ago at the entrance to the Death Frontier…

Finally, we reach the tiny oasis that signifies we are almost to Ulara.

"Water!" Meru screeches, jumping up and down. 

"It's refreshing!" Haschel comments, drinking so fast that I know his stomach will hurt later on.

"Here no monster." Kongol says. "We can rest now."

I wait until everyone has taken their share of water before I drink, deeply.

For the first time is two weeks, Miranda speaks directly to me. "What will the Winglies in Ulara know?"

I look at her in the eyes. _Nothing has changed. I am still what I was. I do not need to cower because you have found out my secret._

The look in her liquid eyes tells me that she expects nothing different.

I reply evenly. "They should know the way we, or at least 'I' should take. So there is no need for you to come."

Miranda scoffs. "Are you still saying that? Don't you understand it is no longer a problem for you alone?!" She demands.

"You just found it out a couple of days ago and now you think you can judge me?" I counter angrily. "It is not as easy as pursuing one Wingly."

I have stepped over the line. Miranda crosses the space separating us in one quick stride and slaps me across the face so hard that my head snaps to the side.

Slowly I turn my head back, my eyes no different than before.

"You…you say it was easy?!" She demands, gasping, and I am surprised to see that she is frightened. "Don't be so conceited! You think it is easy chasing a Wingly that attacked your Queen?"

__

It is easier than what I had to go through! I snarl in my mind, and I am just about the make that comment when the King interrupts.

"Miranda! Rose! Stop it." Albert calls sharply, as if speaking to two little girls fighting over a rag doll. 

Miranda steps back and I take my hand away from the dark hilt of my sword. She is still glaring at me, and I do not back down. 

__

After all that I have had to go through, you think that I am afraid of you?

"Fighting won't get us anywhere." Albert says rationally. He turns to face me. "Rose, nobody can understand the weight of fate you have carried. But we can at least lighten the burden for you."

I look at the Serdian for a moment. Standing tall and proud with his green cape waving like a banner in the desert wind, he indeed looks a king. 

"That's why," Dart says quietly. "We are going with you. If you have the strength to argue, you two, then we can go on."

When everyone else starts walking, and I stay still, Dart comes over and puts his hand on my shoulder. "There is no other way, is there?"

__

No. "This way." I jerk my head sharply, and start to walk.

We reach the cliff in three hours. 

The sand thins out into the solid black rock of the cliffs. The drop at the end only leads to more and more desert. A stacking of rocks acts as a railing.

"Even if an adventurer is lucky enough to make it through the Death Frontier," I say idly, "Nobody can proceed from here." I pause. "Time was stopped for me 11,000 years ago with the spell of this Choker." I gesture to the dark necklace clinging to my throat. "And this is the only way to see Ulara, the Spring Breath Town."

The others move forward to the 'railing.' "But, where is it?" Albert asks, craning his neck.

"The only thing here is an endless desert." Haschel observes.

Meru sprouts her wings and lands on the railing. "No, it's not. Haschel, I sense it. I sense people's feelings, over there!"

I leap up in one motion onto a high outcropping of rocks, agile as a kitten. Tentatively unfastening the choker from my neck, I hold it up in one hand, concentrating my power.

The mirage of the desert shimmers and warps, and then a giant island floats in the sky. A beautiful island, green with plants and forests, with large fashionable buildings in the center. A circular disc supports it, a circle like a rainbow.

"Whoa!" 

"That," I say, refastening the necklace. "Is Ulara. We can fly over there with this."

I jump off the outcropping and kick over a large flat rock to uncover the brilliant green teleporter underneath. "This way," I gesture. I look at Dart. "Are you afraid?"

Turning my question on me, he answers coolly, "I think you are."

"Maybe." I admit, just as cold as always.

"We are standing by you." Dart promises.

I nod. "I know."

"Let's go."

When I reform myself, I am standing in the beautiful glowing Wingly city of Ulara. The pathways are made elegantly of some sort of stone, with teleporters scattered here and there, although not enough to make a newcomer feel confused. The Wingly buildings are small and compact, but cozy and friendly. Shallow brooks glittering with crystal water runs underneath the walkways. The entire town has a refreshing feeling. 

A Wingly woman is standing in front of me when the rest of the team appears. 

The Wingly female smiles, stepping off the unused teleporter she had been standing on. "Welcome to Ulara, the Spring Breath Town. I am the guardian of the teleporting device, Caron." She smiles widely, showing perfect pearl-white teeth. "I'm a good friend of Rose's.

I nod at her. "Long time no see."

"Long time?" Caron echoes. "Rose, you are starting to regain a sense of time, aren't you? No, not only that." She looks around, surprised at the people with me. "You have recovered a lot of other things, too."

"Are you the person who stopped time for Rose?" Dart asks.

"No." I reply. "It was Charle Frahma. She is the person we have to meet now."

"Rose has been carrying the fate of the world all alone while shedding tears of blood." Caron says quietly. "Can you go with Rose?"

"Caron, stop it." I tell her. "I don't need to force them."

Dart steps in front of me to look at Caron. "I have already settled things with the Black Monster. The only thing left is that I have to complete this journey with my companions."

"If you understand that," Caron says gently, but happily. "I have nothing to say."

I start walking down the pathways. I know the twists and turns of Ulara well. The others follow silently.

"Rose!" A male Wingly settles down in front of me, shrinking in his wings. He looks at the others. "Wow. It's been a while since the last time I saw a human other than Rose! It's been eleven thousand and…some years!"

"Hello." I reply.

"These your friends?"

"…This is Dart, Miranda, Meru, Haschel, Albert, and Kongol." I skirt around his question. "We need to see Charle."

"Well, you know where she is. See you around, Rose." The Wingly flies off again.

Meru is gazing around her, amazed to see other Winglies living so peacefully. Albert is thrilled to find that Ulara had managed to stay hidden for 11,000 years, speaking rapidly to Haschel. Kongol looks down the walkways with a look of uneasiness on his face. Miranda seems to have respect and awe mixed in with contempt and her regular annoyance. And Dart is…just Dart.

The water flowing down below is sparkling and clean. When Meru asks, I explain that the water is made from magic.

"Magic can be used for good and bad." Meru says, nodding as if proving some point. "Like now, the magic makes this place beautiful. So why do some people have to use it for bad things?"

I shrug. In eleven thousand years, I have not understood that question.

"So Rose, you are like a hero here?" Haschel asks.

"They know about what you did?" Albert questions. 

I turn my head to glare at the both of them over my shoulder before continuing to walk.

__

These Winglies are the ones who understand what I must do. They understand the risk of the Moon Child.

The next section has two Wingly females and one male speaking cheerfully. This is a town of contented beings. They understand the pain and hatred of the world, and yet still find some way to stay optimistic. Perhaps ignorance _is_ bliss.

Dart is staring at the patch of beautiful red roses in the raised pavilion. "Roses. I think that Shana would be happy to see them." He says wistfully. 

__

The Moon Child means a lot to him… This is a dangerous matter for him. He loves Shana with all his heart, and yet to save the world, he must kill her.

And just as me. 

Miranda's presence moving forward penetrates my thoughts. I still hate her for slapping me. How dare she?! After all that I have been trying to do to save her world!

She moves forward and stares at the roses.

Haschel smiles at her. "It makes me relieved. I didn't know you liked flowers, Miranda. I guess there is some woman in you."

Miranda tosses her hair over her shoulder, a familiar gesture. Her voice is cool and bitter. "Don't misread me. Roses make me puke. They are just flashy. They don't have any kindness in them." She pauses carefully. "Do you know why roses have thorns? It is to bring out their own red by using the blood of the people they hurt. They'll do anything for their own happiness."

__

I'm thinking she's not talking about the flowers anymore.

Evidently, the others see it as well. Albert and Haschel and Meru are shooting worried glances from Miranda to me, as if anticipating an argument or another slap. Kongol crosses his arms over his chest. Dart is squirming just a bit, skittishly. 

"Let's move on." Miranda speaks harshly. "I don't need to be here."

I lead the way again to a different platform. There is a small raised garden here, with five large plants grown in it. Five green plants with red face and large white teeth and snapping jaws. Piranha plants. The Winglies love them. Why, I don't understand. One of them had snapped its mouth on my hand while I was younger and I had lopped off its jaw to get myself free. The wound had infected, and I had to stay out of battle for a couple of days.

"Miata, where is Charle?" I ask the Wingly woman tending to the plants.

She smiles at me. "You are wondering because she would normally be taking care of these babies, right?"

I nod, eyes unblinking.

"Charle is preparing herself. Because, well, the things that we didn't tell you about, right? Zieg told you them, so…"

"It must be about the Moon Signet." I say. I step forward, making the shorter woman step back. "Tell me what you know."

Miata shakes her head. "The Signet is the…Signet Sphere. The Signet Sphere is a sealing device that was created to be the last barrier, just in case the Moon Child reached the Moon That Never Sets."

"Even my mistake was in your plan." I say bitterly. "You are really scary people."

"Even more scary is Zieg." Miata nods. "He is trying to destroy the Signet Sphere. Using the Divine Moon Objects."

"Wait a minute." Dart says. "You made the Signet Sphere just because you were afraid of the birth of the God of Destruction. And why did you make tools that could destroy the Signet?"

Miata looks into the distance. "Ask Charle. It was decided between the two siblings."

"I will." I promise darkly.

"Charle has been waiting for you at her home since this morning. Please go see her."

"Thank you." I reply and without waiting for the others, I walk down the pathway to the left, stepping onto the teleporter. The rest of the team follows. 

I end up in the mansion of the Wingly female Charle Frahma.

"Oh Rosie, darling! I have been waiting for you!"

"_Rosie?_" Haschel echoes, laughing.

I grimace. _I hate that nickname_. _She always looked at me as if I was her daughter or granddaughter._

Ignoring the laugh, I step off the teleporter and through the familiar corridor to the grand couch positioned like a wide throne on top of five steps. The entire house looks elaborate enough to be impressive but not snobby. 

The woman sitting on the couch is dressed in a pink dress with a tight bodice and full sweeping skirt. Her platinum hair is coiled up and pinned to her head, and her hands are small and delicate. Her skin is soft and she looks young enough to be beautiful, but I know better. Because her eyes are the eyes of an old woman.

That is how all the Winglies in Ulara are. Young bodies, beautiful bodies, but old, old eyes. Eyes that know everything. Eyes that have seen the Dragon Campaign and the killing of the Moon Children.

"Charle."

__

Charle Frahma, older sister of Melbu Frahma.

"I don't need your greetings." I say coldly. "You know what I want to ask you." _You always knew, Charle._

She laughs lightly, moving her hand airily in front of her face. "Oh, you _are_ scary. But before that, can you introduce me to the son of dear Zieggy?"

I pause. "This is Dart." I say shortly.

Charle rises and observes Dart. "Doesn't he look just like our Zieggy?" 

__

Yes, he really does.

Her eyes slide back toward me, and her face tightens with concern. "But Rosie, honey, it's complicated. You have to fight with the son of someone who used to be your significant other. And furthermore, the enemy _is_ the significant other."

__

You think I don't know that?!

"Do you want me to give you a knuckle sandwich?" I snarl, tightening my fist.

Charle smiles, but without the mirth. "Sorry, honey. But I'm really concerned. So I'm intentionally making it happy and delightful so that you won't be depressed, Rosie, sweetheart."

__

Yeah right, as if this helps.

I shake my head. "You have never changed."

Dart steps forward. "Charle. If you know, please tell us. Where should we head to?"

Charle stares at him. "Really. You have the same eyes as Zieggy…" She pauses, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "I know. I have been waiting for you in order to tell you everything. 

"Zieggy is trying to break the Signet of the Moon That Never Sets with the magic power of the Divine Moon Objects. That Signet is the Signet Sphere. I am sorry that I didn't tell you about this." She says to me.

I bow my head. "I have to apologize. I missed the Moon Child, Shana."

"But you still have time." Charle insists. "The Signet of the Moon is not broken yet."

"Where are the remaining Signets?" Dart asks.

"In the past," Charle answers, "They were placed in five cities. But there are only three left."

"That's why they needed the same number of Divine Moon Objects." Albert infers.

"What happened to the other two?" Dart asks.

"One was destroyed in the Royal Capital Kadessa during the Dragon Campaign. And the other was lost when the Divine Dragon assaulted the Crystal Palace."

"Does this mean…" I start to say. "That without the Divine Moon Objects, the Signet Sphere can be destroyed?"

Charle shakes her head. "The Divine Moon Objects are just tools that conceal vast amounts of magic power, that's all. So in order to destroy the Signet Sphere, having the same amount of magic power as the Divine Moon Objects is sufficient."

"My dad knew about this, and made Lloyd collect them." Dart informs.

"It doesn't seem like him, and it's so indirect. Plus, something is strange. I wonder how Zieggy knows about the Signet Sphere?"

"Not only that." I say sharply. "He knew that Shana is the Moon Child."

"The Moon That Never Sets is the 108th fruit that the Divine Tree dropped. It was conceived with the God of Destruction that ends the world. That's why we separated it into its soul and flesh and sealed them away. My baby brother Melbu sealed the soul that was the source of magic power in the Crystal Sphere, but um…when he fought with Zieggy, it was broken.

"Then the soul escaped from the Crystal Sphere and started to transmigrate into a human body. Since then it has been called the Moon Child. What is left in the sky is the Moon That Never Sets. When the Moon Child goes back to the Moon That Never Sets, the Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction, will be born. So we needed our Rosie to take on an important task. Please understand her…"

Dart's eyes flicker toward me for half a second, then back to Charle. "Tell me about my father."

"You are concerned, aren't you?"

"Why does he have to destroy the world?" Dart asks. He is reasonably calm about this, but then he did not know his father like I did.

"Sorry," Charle shakes her head. "But that is the one thing that I do not understand."

"But he was unmistakably Zieg." I whisper, my emotions clearly lacing my voice. The most emotions that I have ever shown, so that the others look at me strangely, as if seeing me for the first time.

Seeing their confused looks, Charle hurries to explain. She looks at me with sympathetic eyes and speaks to Dart. "Zieggy was the fiancé of Rosie. They crossed both swords and love. Just looking at them made me feel embarrassed."

__

Don't talk about me as if I am not here!

"Stop right there." I order Charle. "I want to talk alone with Zieg about our memories."

Charle nods gravely. "I agree."

Dart decides to turn the conversation back to what we must do. In a way, he is more efficient than I am. I wonder if he thinks as much as I do? Sometimes it is best to just do and not think. "Why make items to break the Signet?"

"That's right." I agree. "If you were not planning to allow the Virage Embryo to be born, you wouldn't need them."

"I didn't want to, but my baby brother Melbu insisted."

"That is not an explanation, Charle." I warn her.

"Oh, you are so uptight. But okay, I'll explain it to you. I told you that we sealed the soul of the Virage Embryo in the Crystal Sphere, right? It is in order to draw lots of magical power and rule over other creatures. I…wanted to make him stop being a dictator. Because even though we have different appearances or capabilities, we are the same. We should be able to live together on good terms. That's why I created the Signet Sphere, in order to weaken the magic power of the Crystal Sphere. Rose, without telling you that.

"The five Signets that protect the Moon That Never Sets restrained the magic power that flows from there. My operation was a big success! I thought."

"But Melbu found out about it and created the Divine Moon Objects." I finish for her.

"I guess he was prepared so that he could destroy the Signets anytime he wanted to."

"Hmm." I muse. "I get it."

"Where are the rest of the Signets Spheres?"

"That's right. That is the most important information for you, isn't it? Because Zieggy has the Divine Moon Objects and he can break the Signets anytime." Charle nods to herself and turns back to us. "Listen carefully. The rest of the three Signet Spheres are located in the ancient cities. The names of the cities are: the Magical City Aglis, Law City Zenebatos, and Death City Mayfil."

"Those cities are still alive?" I ask, incredulous.

"It's surprising, isn't it? Of course, they were badly damaged during the war."

"How do we get there?" Dart asks.

"Go to Rouge. Then your way will be open." 

"You said Rouge?!" Haschel echoes. "That's my home town!!"

"See, it is already open, isn't it?" Charle smiles. "Well. It'll be night soon. Why don't you go look around until tomorrow morning."

I cannot stay cooped up in the house for a moment longer. I must get out.

Leaving Charle in her room, I take the teleporter out of the house and back to the piranha gardens. 

Dart is standing there, looking up at the Moon That Never Sets and undoubtedly thinking of Shana. His head turns quickly when he hears my silent footsteps.

"Rose…"

I clear my throat, unaccustomed awkwardness filling me. My voice is quiet. "You really forgive…"

Dart waves his hand sharply. "Don't say anything. It's already in the past."

I remember what happened in the Death Frontier.

"This is something between the two of us."

After the five of them ran off, Dart turned back to glare at me. His next words stayed in my heart forever.

"Take your sword."

I didn't want to, but the time had come. My mind was reluctant, but my body did not hesitate any more than usual. My hands gripped the hilt of the sword and dragged it out of its sheath. 

The two blades shimmered in the lava lights of the setting sun.

Two warriors began moving in a tight circle, each waiting for the other to make a mistake and for a chance to start attacking.

But I had lived longer than Dart, and I knew more patience. It was the red-clad warrior who attacked first, dashing forward and slashing downward. 

My sword automatically moved up, blocking his blow and pushing it back. Dart recovered immediately, slashing from the side this time. Battle reflexes won over my thoughts and the blade blocked, struggling against it. 

My leg moved back and then forward, kicking Dart in the side. He crumpled into the sand, his sword arm supporting him. 

Silent as the Moon that glided through the sky, my sword moved down again.

And in that movement, he snapped to life. The sword arm swept up off the ground to block my blade, and Dart surged up, pushing me back. I took three steps to keep my balance. 

Dart had been holding back the entire time. He had indeed grown stronger.

I had no idea how long the battle lasted. Every fiber and nerve and cell of me was concentrated on the intense battle, and at last it drew to an end.

Dart's sword aimed for my right leg, and I moved my sword arm to block it. The warrior's hand flew forward and I barely had time to block the punch he sent for my midsection, grabbing his wrist and immobilizing it.

But while occupying my arms, Dart's right leg snapped forward in a side kick and struck my chest, knocking the wind out of me, and making me fly backwards. 

Flipping in the air, I landed on my feet and stared at him, my sword arm, my right arm, crossed over my chest to rest on my left shoulder. 

Neither of us moved.

I tossed my sword away. It landed with a hollow clunk on the desert sands.

Dart stared at me, wondering what trick I was up to now.

I shook my head. "You have become strong. You can take care of yourself now."

__

That had been my only purpose. Aside from killing the Moon Child, my only meaning in life was to raise these new Dragoons, to protect them and guide them until they were strong enough to do so themselves. And now that I have failed so miserably in killing the last Moon Child, I have no reason to live. These new Dragoons shall take care of what must be done. And now Dart is so strong…he has grown up, and he is now the leader. He can take care of himself now.

My next words sounded strange even to my own ears.

"Kill me."

Dart's body relaxed a little, still watching for any deception I might have. He moved forward and pointed the tip of his blade in the hollow of my throat. I bowed my head, waiting for the finishing blow.

The coldness of the blade left my skin and I heard the scraping of a sword being sheathed.

I looked at him with slanted eyes. 

"Why?" 

Dart spoke not gently, but firmly, with his back facing me. "The Black Monster is dead now. We only have…" he chose his words carefully, his voice softening just a bit.

He turned around, and that familiar emotion of warmth that was always in his eyes was there again. "A companion who is on the same road."

__

We only have a companion who is on the same road. 

I cannot miss the symbolism in his words. Dart had said to Kongol that a friend was someone who traveled along the same road.

__

After 11,000 years, I finally have people to call friends.

I sit down at the edge of the garden next to Dart. 

"I miss the time when you were chased by Feyrbrand in the forest." I tell him wistfully. My voice is softer than it has been for thousands of years.

"Me too." He agrees, standing up. "And…I didn't know anything back then. The world is so frail."

I look at him with smoke-colored eyes. "The world is created so that it can perish at any time. The creator Soa can recreate one anytime. But the people living there can accept it, believing it is "Fate", or struggle against it." I stare out into the distance, getting up. I nod to reassure myself. "I struggled in order to protect this world that was taken back by friends who gave up their lives."

"I told you," Dart says gently. "You are no longer alone, Rose."

"Dart…"

He smiles. "Let's go see everybody. This is just the beginning."

Trying to smile back, and failing, I go with him.

The Wingly male and female that had been at the roses the first time are still there. They nod at me and speak to Dart in their annoying riddles with the symbolism. 

"There are two magic elements sealed in Rose's choker. One is to open the Signet of this city, and the other is…immortality." The woman, Karani, says. "Rose is immortal because of the magic in the choker."

__

Because of what Charle did to me, to help me continue being the Black Monster.

Jaro is more poetic. "Standing in the darkness of the night, you feel almost like you've lost your sense of existence. Have you had this kind of experience?" he asks a bewildered Dart. "Darkness signifies the uneasiness, and black signifies the sorrow. They are the colors of Rose."

"That's enough." I tell the both of them, leading Dart away.

"They seem to know a lot about you." He comments.

"These Winglies have helped me a lot. They taught me about the truth of the Moon Child."

Dart stops walking and faces me. "Rose…I'm sorry for what happened. Sorry for what happened to you, and for the way I reacted to what you did."

"I destroyed your hometown." I say knowingly, apologetically.

"After all this time, I finally understand. Neet was destroyed because the Moon Child passed through. You were only doing what had to be done. I still mourn for my parents, but…my quest for the Black Monster has ended." He takes my hand, not as a love, but as a friend, and I welcome the new experience.

"You mean the loss of your mother." I correct him.

"Was Charle telling the truth? Were you really in love with my father?"

I look away for a moment before Dart's hand tightens and I look back. "I loved Zieg, Dart. He was…my world. When he died…a part of me died with him. I became cold and harsh, to do what I had to do."

"You cried when he died?"

"Yes."

"I cannot imagine you crying."

"There is not a soul in the world that has not suffered a heartbreak at least once in his or her life." I tell him. "I am still Human. I am no different. Didn't you cry when you thought your father died?"

"I was five years old. Yes, I did. And I cried when I found out that my mother died too. But…I went to Seles, and Shana's family helped me grow up." Dart winces.

"You miss Shana, don't you?" I ask him gently.

"Yes."

"You do understand that because she is the Moon Child…" I pause, choosing my words. "Things will be much more complicated."

"I'll do anything I can to save Shana." Dart vows. "And to save the world."

I shake my head slowly. _Poor boy…_

The king and the giant of our team in the weapon shop.

"So we are leaving in the morning." Albert asks. 

"Yes, we are. What are you here?"

"We don't know what will happen in ancient city of Winglies. We need strong weapon." Kongol explains. "Kongol doesn't care about leader of creatures. Kongol goes with you to the end."

"For me too." Albert agrees. "It is no longer the mere problem of the Moon Gem."

__

Finally you understand. 

"I cannot ignore this crisis of the world. You didn't imagine we wouldn't go with you, did you?" Albert asks, warily.

Dart turns away and smiles. "I didn't. Now let's find Meru."

Meru is speaking with Caron at the entrance. She smiles widely when she sees us, spinning around. Her optimism never wavers.

"Hey! Buddies! Caron was telling me about the teleporting device. It's not like back home. And, when are we going? We already heard lots about it from Charle, and we found out where we should go."

"You are coming too?" I ask her.

"Of course!" She giggles. "Without me, the strongest of all, you cannot save the world! Besides, I learn a lot by following Dart. Everybody's the same, Gigantos, Humans, and Winglies. And I can't stand the destruction of a world where everybody lives!"

"I think," I brood thoughtfully. "For the first time, I agree with Meru."

"Is this the first time?" Meru asks innocently.

I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Leave here tomorrow morning." Caron interrupts. "By that time, I'll be prepared so that I can send you on the way that goes to the Home of Gigantos from here."

"We can travel that far instantly?" Dart asks, surprised at the Wingly technology. "Then we might as well go directly to Rouge."

Caron shakes her head. "Our power is becoming weaker day by day. That is our maximum power."

"I understand." Dart nods.

"Take a boat to Rouge. It should have been prepared in the Twin Castle at Fletz a short while ago. I asked King Zior to have a dock made especially."

"I'm surprised that he listened to a Wingly." I comment.

"There are no Humans or Winglies when it comes to the end of the world." Caron says. "You don't need to thank us. Now, it is not too much to say that the mission of the city is to send you off."

"Yes." I agree. "And this is one way. This city has been looking after the world."

"Come on. We have to find Haschel and Miranda." Dart says. 

The only place we check now is the bar.

The Wingly at the entrance greets me, and speaks. "The spell of eternity indeed creates an immortal body. But it also corrodes the heart. This is a place to heal the corroded heart from the spell of eternity. Enjoy yourself."

"That's not true." Miranda's voice comes from the second floor balcony hanging above us. She is speaking to Haschel. "The reason I hate roses is because I see my mother in roses. She never looked directly at me. It was like she was seeing something through me." Miranda gets up, gesturing. "And she beat me up."

__

So she is not the arrogant woman I thought she was.

"Why did your mother abandon you?" Haschel asks.

"Sorry, but I don't want to talk about that." Miranda says. "Let's not talk about my past anymore. It spoils our drinks." 

"It's all right to talk about these things. The world is not always happy. Besides, listening to you reminds me of my past."

"About your runaway daughter, right?" 

I can imagine Haschel wincing. "You are so sharp it hurts."

Miranda shrugs. "I hate being roundabout."

Dart and I walk up to them. 

"You guys are here." He says.

"When are we leaving?" Miranda asks. "Haschel has been drinking too much since he heard we are going to Rouge."

"That's right! Drink a little more, and let's leave for Rouge at once!" I cannot tell whether or not the martial artist is drunk or not. "Of course to save the world!"

"Gimme a drink too." Dart says.

I blink. _Well, might as well get it over with._ "May I join? I wanted to talk to you, Miranda."

To my surprise, she only nods. "Same here."

I sit next to her at the bar, and she is the one who speaks first. "I am," She says hesitantly, pausing. "A Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau. I'm supposed to help other people, the way Luanna and Setie and Wink do. But… we don't seem to get along."

I shake my head.

"Do you like being enemies?"

I shake my head again. "No. It's tiring. I have too much on my mind to have hate for you."

"I understand that. Perhaps…I could have been a little more understanding about your secret."

I glance at her sideways, surprised. "And perhaps I could have been less harsh."

"Why is it that we never seem to get along? Is it because we are alike?" Miranda asks.

"Darkness and light naturally oppose each other."

"That's nonsense." Miranda says airily, reading my thoughts. "Light was born out of darkness, and every light has darkness."

I look at her strangely. "That's a nice way to put it."

Miranda pauses for a long time before finally speaking quietly. "You've been through a lot in your life, Rose."

I remain silent.

"Every 108 years, having to go forward and kill the Moon Child no matter what, because the future of the world depended on you murdering an infant. People called you a Black Monster, or a demon…but you were only trying to save them, weren't you?" 

I toss my head defiantly. "Over 11,000 years ago, the Dragon Campaign tore me away from my friends. They sacrificed their lives so that the people today could have a future. I wasn't about to let their deaths be in vain. Not then, and not now."

"What was it like?"

"What, the Dragon Campaign or being the Black Monster?" I ask bitterly, sipping slowly at my wine. 

"Either or. Both."

"Neither of them was easy." I reply coldly. "In the Dragon Campaign, I had to watch as thousands of Humans and six Dragoons die. Then later on, I had to do killing myself as the Black Monster."

__

It was hard killing the Moon Child, when she was just an infant cooing up at me with wide beautiful eyes. But sacrifices had to be made, and the Moon Child had to die.

"I misunderstood you, Rose." Miranda says. I guess that is her way of apologizing.

"We all misinterpreted Rose." Albert speaks up quietly. "We all saw her as a cold harsh woman, but you were always afraid to make friends because you didn't want to drag us into it, right, Rose?"

__

And yet you are part of it. I think. But instead of answering, I look at Miranda. "Your turn. Explain yourself."

The blonde woman's eyes hold the same defiant look that mirrors my own, but she lowers her gaze to her drink. "My mother left me and my father. I don't know why. She left with another man. I saw her leave. That's why I hated to see roses. Every time, I would see my mother in roses. Every time, on the shelf behind her, there would be roses. Maybe that's why I hated you, Rose. Because you or your name reminded me of my past."

"When two women are alike," Haschel says thoughtfully. "They are either the best of friends or the worst of enemies."

Miranda's mouth quivers in a small smile. "Then we agree? No more fighting?"

"None." I lift my glass of wine. 

"Let's make a toast." Dart says suddenly. "Not only for the new friendship of Rose and Miranda, but for each other."

He pauses, and speaks almost in prophecy. "When the clash of swords echo, the journey chasing the past ends…"

"And the journey to know today begins…" Albert says next.

"One soul seeks another…" Kongol offers somberly. 

"And pledges their sworn friendship to each other." Meru says calmly.

"One mystery begets the next…" Haschel replies.

Miranda states the next line. "…And the doors of fate are opened."

I pause, considering the words that rise automatically to my mind like water overflowing. "You are free," I whisper quietly, in a tone that hovers in the chilly night air. "To sever the chains of fate that bind you."

Silently, seven glasses rise in the air swiftly, and I down my wine before I even know I had lifted it to my lips.

__

What was that? A prophecy?

The others seem pleasantly mystified, and not worried.

__

That's right. Why should I be worried? Maybe it's the wine talking, but…now I know. Fate led me to these new Dragoons and here I shall stay. 

Dart smiles. "Shall we go?"

"Let's go back to Charle." I suggest. "She must have prepared the bedrooms for us." 

When we wake up the following morning, Charle isn't there.

In fact, the entire city seems deserted. 

"Let's just go." Dart says. "I want to thank Charle too, but our priority is Rouge."

As we approach the city entrance, the sky is filled with shafts of moonlight.

Everybody is there, all the Winglies of Ulara. Caron, Charle Frahma, Miata, even some of the ones that I did not speak to. Kiara, Rurse, Relaine, Mythos…everyone is hovering in the air with their wings.

"Charle what is this?" Dart asks.

The Wingly laughs. "Oh, naïve boy. It is a sendoff for heroes."

"You shouldn't have." I say, my voice still flat as normal. I do not mean to sound like this.

Charle understands. She smiles and walks over, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Rosie, honey, you have been doing really great. Since the soul of the Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction was released, you have saved the world, let me see…at least 107 times."

"Really." Caron interjects. "After even being called a Black Monster."

"Stop it." I tell the both of them sharply, moving my hand in a sharp staccato motion. I look at Dart, speaking to him as well as to the two female Winglies. "The monster has…died."

"Zieggy is serious. And he has everything to give birth to the God of Destruction. Only Dragoons can stop him." Charle hesitates. "I wonder what Creator Soa is thinking. Like destruction or regeneration. I wonder why it wants us to go through such a painful thing."

"We will change Fate."

Charle is staring at us with different eyes, eyes that are concerned and slightly feared. "Everybody must survive, okay?"

I nod.

"Now go. Zieg won't wait for us." Caron gestures to the teleporter.

"Right." Moving in front of the others, I step onto the shimmering green circle.

"Whoa!" 

"Where'd we end up? I thought Charle said that we'd be in the Home of Gigantos."

"This _is_ the Home of Gigantos."

"Then why is it so dark?"

Lighting the path considerably with her Dragoon Spirit, Miranda says, "I think we're in a cave."

"There's a boulder blocking the way. The teleporter must have been well hidden so that wandering travelers couldn't accidentally stumble upon a path to the Wingly city of Ulara." I explain. "But we in a cave or some sort, and there's a boulder blocking the way, because you can see the edges of light filtering through."

Dart and Haschel throw themselves against the rock and it sways but doesn't roll out of the way.

"Kongol push."

The Giganto shoulders his way past the two warriors to stand in front of the giant boulder blocking our way. Placing his palms flat against its smooth surface, his muscles tense and strain as he slowly shoves the boulder out of the way. 

We are standing near the path where Haschel had knocked Meru unconscious the first time we came, to fight Gehrich. Gods above, how long ago had that been? That was back in the time when they thought that everything was as simple as saving Lynn, one life out of the millions that we must save now. It is so strange how in such a short amount of time your entire world can fall apart.

Fletz is not too far. Past the Valley of Corrupted Gravity, then the Barrens, and then we reach Fletz. After everything we had gone through, this short journey with its simple monsters shall be swift and easy.

"Calculating our current level and the level of the monsters, as well as the distance we have to go and the supplies that we have, it should take us… a bit less than a fortnight at normal pace." Albert says.

"We'll go at a faster pace. We can't let my father reach the Signet Sphere first. The _Queen Fury_ will be in Fletz. Let's go."

Rouge is a small town.

Not even a town. More like several pieces of wood pieced together to form one large apartment building. It is supported over the ocean by several wooden pillar encrusted with barnacles. The entire structure is made of wood, with no windows, only open holes. But it is good weather here; there is no need for windows that will shut out the warm or cold. But there are few people and the entire town seems poor and destitute.

The _Queen Fury_ can't get close to Rouge, in fear of breaking one of the wooden foundations.

"Hello!" Someone is waving furiously on the roof of the entire wooden thing. "We're sending a boat!"

A few minutes later, there is a little rowboat bobbing next to us, looking ridiculously tiny compared to the _Queen Fury_. But the boat takes us over to Rouge and the _Queen Fury_ backs up to a safe distance. 

Haschel takes a deep breath as he steps onto Rouge, as if breathing in the scent of home. Speaking to many people along the way, he leads us up to the mayor of Rouge, an old man with soft eyes. He greets Haschel warmly, and the martial artist introduces the rest of us as his friends.

But when the mayor is questioned, he knows nothing. "What is a Wingly?" he asks.

I can see Meru and Albert stumble back in shock. 

"Rouge must really be cut off from the rest of the world." Miranda mutters.

Haschel turns to look at us. "I'll explain everything to him. The rest of you go and wander the town. Stock up on supplies or rest."

Idly I walk around the town, scrutinizing the items and comparing the prices. Rouge is such a small town, and there is hardly anywhere to go. I follow a path up a cliff overlooking the ocean. Meru is already standing there.

"You sense it too, don't you, Meru?" I ask her.

She turns around quickly, as if not expecting to see me here. "Uh. Yeah. There's a lot of magic going on. I can feel it, but I don't know where it's coming from. Do you know?"

I stay silent. Meru is a Wingly. By the standards of the Dragon Campaign, she is my enemy. And yet she had never been aggressive toward me or anyone else. I shake my head. This entire racism predetermined judging thing goes way too far. How can you judge one single person by the race that they belong to? 

"Oh there you are." Dart appears behind us. "Come on. Haschel finished telling the Mayor everything and the mayor says that he might know something." 

Walking behind Meru and Dart, I follow them back to the mayor's house. 

"It's in the middle of the sea. It's like a giant stick in the sea." The mayor is saying to the rest of the group. "But you can't get close to it by boat, because there is an awful whirlpool. But you can see it clearly from the cliff top."

"I don't remember that." Haschel says.

"Well, it suddenly came up, so you wouldn't have known about it."

The martial artist turns to Dart. "Shall we try?"

"I hope it's the one you folks wanna go to." The mayor says. "Haschel, you know where the cliff is."

It turns out that it was the spot where Meru and I had felt the magic. I stand over at the railing, glaring out at the ocean, stretching out my mind. I can feel the magic in the air, but I can't seem to see it. It seems to come from that enormous pinnacle a few hundred meters away.

"That must be what the mayor was talking about." Dart says, shielding his eyes against the sun with one hand as he gazes out at the tower.

"There was no stick twenty years ago when I was here." Haschel comments. 

"It's huge and more like a tower than a stick!" Meru exclaims. 

Albert, soaking up knowledge as usual, frowns. "This structure could never be made by human beings. Rose, do you know anything about it? You were there once, weren't you?"

I turn my face. I do not like being reminded of my past. 

Dart turns slightly and smiles. "That's right. Rose is one of the Dragoons that liberated Humans. Don't you remember anything?"

"Charle said that the Signet Sphere remained in the Magical City Aglis, the Death City Mayfil, and the Law City Zenebatos. If I remember correctly…there was only the magical city Aglis in this region of the sea. Charle must have made us come here because she thinks Zieg will go after the Signet Sphere of Aglis first." 

"Rose, a question please!" Meru says, from where she perches on the railing, unafraid of falling over. For a moment I wonder if she fell over would she allow herself to strike the water or would she unsheathe her wings and risk being persecuted by the humans? 

"What the heck is Law City or whatever they call it? What do they mean?"

"I was thinking about that too." Albert admits. "The Crystal Palace was called the Birth City too."

"The Birth City Crystal Palace was a city where babies were selected to be born." I reply flatly.

"Select babies?"

"Those with weak magic power weren't allowed to be born."

"That's so cruel!" Meru gasps. 

"And the Death City Mayfil was where the souls of the dead were sent to an infernal world."

"Winglies in the past had even their destination after death decided for them." Miranda says thoughtfully. How does she feel now that she knows her precious Deningrad holds this secret of being the birth city, where babies were "selected" to be born?

"The magical city Aglis was where magic was stored." I conclude.

Dart cuts in, smooth and business-like. "If it is Aglis, how can we approach it?"

"We have to hurry or Zieg will get there first." _And only the gods know what he can do._

"Well, we cannot go by boat. We gotta find some other way. Let's go back to the mayor and see what he says." 

I start walking down the dirt path back to Rouge when I feel it. It is not painful. It is like stepping outside on a winter day, with the cold pressing in around you. I can feel magic around me, sharp and powerful magic. The magic in the air, making up the very existence of things…something is wrong.

"What's wrong, Rose?" Dart asks.

"We were being watched by somebody." I announce flatly, drawing my sword and looking around.

"Being watched?"

There is another flash of magic, so sharp, and painful this time, that the magic-sensitive Dragoons all stumble. The threads of power in the air snap, and the ground starts to shake. I stumble several steps to keep my balance, finally gripping a tree branch.

"What's going on?" Haschel yells above the din.

The mayor runs up to us, his balance wavering. "The sea is splitting!" 

Sheathing my sword, I run after him to the cliff. 

He stops so suddenly that I nearly crash into him. Following his line of gaze, I can see the walls of the ocean.

He is right. The sea had split apart, pushing away the whirlpool to allow calm peaceful waters leading to the magical city of Aglis. It is no longer just a "stick" in the ocean, it is a beautiful crystal city, almost like the Crystal Palace, except in a shade of deep indigo. It glitters and shines with magic so that my Dragoon Spirit strains to be released. 

"What is that?" Dart yells, even though the shaking has stopped.

"The magical city Aglis revealed itself." I reply.

"Good." Miranda says fiercely. "Now we can get there before Zieg!"

"Now that the whirlpool has disappeared, you can take the boat there, Haschel." The mayor says, dazed. It is a small wonder. Rouge had not even known what a Wingly was and now all of a sudden the mayor finds out that the magical city of Aglis, untouched for eleven thousand years is nearly resting in his backyard. 

Author's Note: Sorry that was a crappy way to end the story. But I've been developing a bad case of writer's block and I can't THINK. I've got half of my next part, and I think people will like it, but I won't post it up until I can finish the other half. If anyone has any suggestions or knows a way to get past writer's block, PLEASE email me at [TruthofIllusion@aol.com][1]. Thanks

   [1]: mailto:TruthofIllusion@aol.com



	7. The Challenge of Aglis

Author's note: I have to thank Rap's for helping me unlock a new way to write. She helped with my writer's block. She's a lifesaver! I can finally write again! (Some of you are probably groaning at that, but then why are you reading this?)

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Dragoon

****

AGLIS

Even inside Aglis it is the same shade of violet, and thrumming with power. I feel like spreading my wings and soaring through the sky, uncaring of what humans will say and do. 

But I cannot. We have more important things to do. Like stopping Zieg before he can destroy the Signet Sphere. And yet I pause at the grand doors leading to the inner chambers. My gloved fingers touch the handles of the door and yet do not pull.

"No reason to say no." Dart reminds me. "Let's go."

I shake my head. "Zieg will come here." I tell him. "You will have to finally settle things. So I want you to go first." _Zieg was my fiancé but is he is your father._

Obediently, Dart moves forward and pulls open the heavy doors. 

Meru breathes out in wonder as we step inside. The room inside is immense, with a high domed ceiling, and several walkways inlaid with shining teleporters. She stretches out her moonlight wings and hovers a few feet off the ground. "Wow!" 

"It didn't used to be in such a suffocating place. All the Wingly cities used to be in the sky so that it was easier to control the creatures below." I pause. "But then we shot them down."

"With my father."

"Yes, Zieg and I, along with five other Dragoons." 

It would take us forever to figure out which teleporters lead where, so instead we just leap from walkway to walkway. When the distance is too far, we call on the magic in the air to grow the Dragoon wings and fly to the exit, on the far side of the vast room. 

The next room is a hallway. To the left is a sealed door with lots of magic hiding behind it. Even my sword cannot cut through it. There is a mild magical presence approaching and then I am looking at a…creature I have never seen before. A cross between a dog and a machine. I frown at it. 

"I am Ruff. Welcome to seven heroes fated to be here." The creature speaks. "And Rose, these past thousand of years have been long."

"Who are you?" Miranda demands.

"How do you know my name?" I ask in an equally icy tone. I had never seen this creature before. Is this the one that was watching us?

"Tell me or I'll rough you up!" Miranda threatens it.

The creature, Ruff, only tilts its head to one side, confused. "Rough up? Ruff is not familiar with this term. Will you show it to me?"

The Sacred Sister is not used to such disobedience. She steps forward menacingly.

"Miranda, this baby didn't do anything!" Meru protests, kneeling in front of Ruff. "Sorry we scared you. Oh! This baby's made by magic!"

"By magic?" I echo. _That's impossible!_ "There wasn't even such technology during the Dragon Campaign!"

Meru giggles. "But this baby is totally cute!"

Ruff tilts his head again. "Ruff is cute? Then you are all not cute, ruff. But Rose is exception, ruff."

__

What is that supposed to mean? "If you are gonna treat me as an exception why don't you take me to the Signet Sphere?"

Ruff shakes his head. "It's your own challenge to go by yourself, ruff. All is for the sake of the Psychedelic Bomb and Moot. Ruff is going, ruff. It's rough, ruff."

"It's been a while since I last came here. Don't you think you should be nice to me and tell me more?" I coax it in a voice dripping with mock-sweetness. 

"Ruff has nothing to tell you, ruff. Ruff has something else to do, ruff." He turns and walks away.

I stand up, irritated. "Let's go. They can't tell us anything." 

A few minutes later a ghost hovers in front of us. 

"A monster?" Dart asks, slashing it away with his sword. "Are there supposed to be monsters down here?"

"No." I reply. "But Aglis shouldn't still exist either."

It is not long before we come upon another creature, this one a bit larger than the others are. It is waiting in a room to point out the way for us. "I am Buckle." He announces himself.

"Which way do we go?" Miranda demands.

Buckle looks at her. "You are annoying, uck."

Miranda blinks at his rudeness and makes a face as if to say something nasty back to him before Buckle replies, "Miranda and others go this way, uck." 

We pass through several more rooms and corridors before another magic baby appears. 

"It's another magical creature." Dart announces, staring down at the ankle-high creature. 

"Don't be mean, pino." It reproaches. "It's just a message, pino. I am Spino."

"Give me a break." I say scornfully. "Is everything like this in here?" 

It looks up at me. "It's Rose, pino. You are in the mirror, Rose. It's Rose who gets friends and is in the mirror, pino." 

__

How does everyone here know my name? Who are these little things? "Stop speaking in riddles. If you have a message, just say it."

"Don't be mean, pino." Spino scolds me. "Savan said, "Zenebatos, which governs the rightful law has lost its reason and Mayfil, which governs over noble death has been toyed by devils from the infernal world. This city is no exception. My magic power is deteriorating and cannot prevent the invasion by monsters anymore. The only saving grace is my… this city's objective is about to be completed. You are the key. I have been waiting for you for thousands of years. Come, before he comes."

"Savan." Dart repeats the name. "As if he knows everything."

"We will find out." I tell him, following the path from which Spino had appeared.

The next room has a pillar of moon-colored light, coming from a pedestal in the center of the room. Another creature is rolling around it, like a planet following a circular orbit. Dart steps into its path and the creature bumps into him, sprawling onto the floor and getting up.

"You stopped me, cal. I am Decal. Welcome to the city of Savan, cal."

"Who is Savan?" Dart asks.

"Is Savan the same as me?" Meru asks. 

"The same as Wingly, cal. And Savan is a Wingly who has been observing through a mirror for thousands of years, cal. So, go, cal. Time is rolling on to the conclusion, cal."

Dart looks at the pillar of moonlight. "What is this?"

As he speaks, Decal moves to a machine and taps a few buttons. Dart's figure appears in the pillar, reflecting his every move. Dart moves his right arm, the apparition also moves its right arm. I frown. Is this some sort of scrying machine?

Spino reappears from where he had been waiting in the opposite doorway. "The mirror that reflects the present has been watching you forever, pino. For thousands of year, watching you, Rose, pino."

__

Me? Why? "What for?"

"Don't be mean, pino. Savan is the same as you, Rose. The same as all of you now, pino. Savan is over there." 

We follow him through more magical corridors until the magic grows stronger. With the blade scraping sound of teleportation, Savan is now standing before us.

He is a tall Wingly, dressed in spring green robes that trail down to his feet. His head is shaved bald and he has a long white beard. He looks like a mortal old man, but the shaft of moonlight wings proves otherwise. 

"The time has come." He intones. "The foreseen evil is coming. I am Savan. I am a Wingly fated to wait. The Signet Sphere you are looking for is safe. It is protected by Last Kraken." 

"You know everything?" Dart asks him. 

"I know that there is no time left."

Losing my last bit of patience, I step forward. "Who are you?" _Why do you know so much about me? Have you been watching me for all these years? All the times I thought I was alone…were you watching me? Who exactly are you and why do you do this?_ "What are you going to do…no, what are you going to make us do?"

Savan turns dark eyes to me, and I am surprised at the suffering. "I survived the Dragon Campaign and continued studying magic to reconstruct a Wingly world. Yes, even making myself ageless and immortal. However the world outside the mirror hasn't required me. The world of Winglies is no longer desired. I, an immortal body with no purpose. Four thousand years of solitude deprived me of everything. Even the significance of life and the meaning of death. But seven thousand years ago, I was saved by Rose." 

__

What? I don't remember meeting you before.

"I found the meaning of life in the Black Monster in the mirror. Rose, who now is confronting our fate. I restarted my studies for Rose. And its crystallization is this Psychedelic Bomb and Moot. We will stop the murderous deeds of Zieg, who continues the plan of the creator, by using the attacking spell of the Psychedelic Bomb. And with Moot, we will completely seal the Moon That Never Sets."

I shake my head. "If that is the answer to the riddle, no wonder it takes several thousand years."

"Moot will be completed soon. But in order to activate the Psychedelic Bomb, I need the courage of all of you."

"Our courage?" Dart echoes.

"It seems that my courage alone is not enough. The Psychedelic Bomb didn't work. I guess I don't have any courage."

"That's not true!" Meru protests, flying forward. "You have courage, Savan!"

"Yes, you have been fighting alone for thousands of years." Haschel murmurs quietly in assent.

Savan smiles for half a second before resuming his words. "You have to endure your own challenge and we will pour the courage that is born from them into the Psychedelic Bomb and activate it. When you are ready, come to me. But the newborn magic is a mere hunk of materials. Without heart, the real power cannot be employed. But we have here brave people who can remain just and have the heart to bring completion to the ultimate magic. Please ignite the Psychedelic Bomb with your courage. Now proceed to the chamber of challenges."

The old Wingly leads us to a room where another creature is waiting. "I am Lulu." She chirps. "Are you ready for your challenge?"

"Wait." Dart says, and turns to Savan. "What exactly are Moot and the Psychedelic Bomb?"

"The Psychedelic Bomb is a weapon that you will use against Zieg." Savan answers and I flinch before I can control myself. "It is a powerful weapon, if your courage can ignite it. Moot is another signet sphere, one that cannot be broken. It will be added to the other Signet Spheres to create a stronger guard against reaching the Moon That Never Sets."

__

Another signet sphere, a new one that cannot be broken by the Divine Moon Objects. By the gods, why didn't I think of that? That way, perhaps I could have avoided eleven thousand years of killing. 

"Will you take the challenge now?" The creature asks.

"Yes."

Across a small bridge is a platform with seven pods, each colored in different shades. Automatically I am drawn to the one in deep violet. 

I end up in a room of nothingness. I am standing on a platform made of golden wires, on the edge. No one else is here with me. No, of course not. We must each endure our own challenges. I wait in the darkness, listening to the background hum of the machines. Something about the magic in this place is strange. Mystical, old, foreign, different. I take a deep breath and continue to wait for my challenge. _If I am going to help, don't make me wait so long._

As if sensing my thoughts, Savan appears. I can tell even with my back to him. "I would often think about it." He says quietly, as if confiding some great secret to me. "The thing we are doing, namely Charle Frahma creating the Signet Sphere to seal the Moon That Never Sets, and Rose continuously killing the Moon Child. I prepared for the coming evil day with a new Signet, Moot, and the Psychedelic Bomb. And waited until the moment. The road to destruction laid by the Creator Soa was supposed to be absolute. But evolution was stopped by us Winglies.

"I would often think about it. Whether our deeds were the right thing, and will continue forever. I am afraid. Whether I will be myself until the day my body perishes and becomes dust. Will our intention be engulfed by the intention of the Creator Soa eventually? Is everything meaningless?" 

I finally turn around to face him with fierce gray eyes. "You go too far. We are neither immortal nor gods. We are mere people. People should just live in the present. Because it means living for the 'next' present. I have been that way and I won't change. When is my challenge?"

Savan smiles. "You don't need one. You have been through enough already."

I shake my head. "I need a challenge. I do not trust myself on this journey. I…" _I am afraid that if I do, I shall end up hurting myself or the others. _

Savan considers this for a moment. "Very well. If it is what you want." 

I wait for another long while before Savan's friendly pet appears, the one with the insanely cute name, Lulu or something like that. "Are you ready?" She asks me.

__

Who can ever be truly ready for the future? I think, but instead I nod. The creature fades away and the darkness starts to take form. I narrow my eyes. When the magic stops writhing, I am in a small cottage in a snow-covered village. Neet. I never forget a town I destroy.

The room is lit up only by the soft rosy glow of the fireplace, where a warm fire is crackling, echoed by soft laughter. I turn and start walking to the two people. One of them I recognize without seeing his face. Zieg's golden hair reflects the firelight as he laughs with the person sitting in the high-backed armchair. He is wearing a heavy red jacket with a white fur trim, as if he has been here a long time.

Almost dreading it, I walk around the armchair.

The woman sitting there is very pretty, with soft raven-dark hair that falls on either side of her face like silk curtains. Her eyes are deep violet and snap with life. Lean muscles tighten her pale skin and her hands are callused. She is a fighter. She wears a velvet jacket identical to Zieg's except that it is pale violet. Her hands, along with his, are resting on her swollen belly. They are laughing at the baby. Dart. She is carrying Dart. 

"Hello, Claire." I whisper, my voice pained. 

They are laughing, showing no indication that they have heard me. 

__

It's your challenge, stupid. They can't see or hear you. 

Zieg is smiling, content. It has been a long time since I saw him so happy. The only scenes I can clearly remember of him are when he is being petrified, and I am unable to save him. Faces of torture and pain. I shut my eyes. He looks so happy here, like a true father. He looks as if he belongs here. The Dragoon Spirit hangs around his neck, unused, but ready.

__

If Zieg had been in Neet, then what happened the night that the Black Monster appeared?

Invisible to them, I stare at Claire's swollen belly and Zieg's hands stroking her hair, comforting her. For a moment I remember a time when it would have been me in the dark-haired woman's place. My hair he would be smoothing, my forehead he would be kissing. An insane jealousy fills me. 

__

It was not meant to be you. Zieg was my fiancé. If he revived how come he went to you and not me? Why? Why are you here instead of me? 

Kill her. A little voice in my head says, husky with bloodlust. _No one here can see you. They can't see you or hear you. You could kill her and no one would know._

Why would I? I debate with it like a madwoman.

__

Because you should be sitting there. You should be carrying Zieg's child. Why should she be living so happily with him when it is you who have mourned his death so terribly, _you who had been alive with him? Why should she be with him, instead of you, his fiancée and love? Kill her._
    
    I put my hand on the hilt, tilting my head confusedly.

__

No one will know. Kill her and be done with it. It would not be the first time you killed.

Absently, I draw my sword, the heavy blade in my hand before I know it. 

I actually manage to lift the sword halfway before I realize.

"No!" I yell. "Why should I? Why should I kill her? Just because she is married to my former fiancé? No. It was his choice. Who am I to stop this? They are happy. She is innocent of everything and so is he."

If I kill Claire now, I would not only be killing a woman. I would be killing Haschel's daughter, Dart's mother, Zieg's wife, and a friend to the people in Neet. If I killed her now, Dart would never be born. Zieg would be hurt. And most importantly, I would be killing.

Why should I kill? After all the killing I have seen why should I murder someone in a fit of jealousy? At least when I was the Black Monster there was some justification in it. But this! This would just be murdering in cold blood!

I toss my sword aside, screaming. My screams are that of a wild tortured animal, filling the entire room, filling the entire universe with my grief and still the couple does not notice me. I put my hands over my head and drop to my knees, yelling out all the frustration and guilt and pain that I harbor within myself. The burst of air from my lungs sounds terrifying, like a dead spirit trying to resurrect itself. 

When my voice gives out, I let out a shaky breath and swipe a gloved hand across my eyes. The glove comes away stained. Frowning and trembling, I pull off my gloves and touch my cheek.

Wetness.

Are these…tears?

Am I…crying? 

Ridiculous. But yet as I walk over to the mirror hanging on the wall, the world is underwater and my mouth tastes of liquid salt. 

Gods above, I look a sight. My dark hair, usually like black silk falling around my shoulders, looks like a bird tried to make a nest in it. My headpieces, the ones that someone once called devil horns, where are they? I must have knocked them out of my hair when I clutched at the pain in my head. My scabbard is empty and light; my sword is across the room. 

I dare not look at the eyes of the girl reflected in the mirror. But I steel myself and lift my head and look.

Her eyes are leaking water. It sparkles on her cheeks and slides down her chin to drip to the carpeted floor. She drags a hand across her eyes and her skin is wet. For that one moment, she doesn't look like a mysterious dark woman anymore. Instead she looks like a lost little girl. Just a girl with tears on her cheeks.

Tears. I am crying.

I had once seen Miranda cry that time when she found that her Queen Theresa was safe after Shana rescued the palace. I had been shocked. But what were tears? Just water. And yet these harmless water droplets evaded all my defenses and left me raw and alone, vulnerable. 

I am crying. The revelation of that is so shocking that I laugh. 

Another stunning change. Is it possible to laugh and cry at the same time? Tears represent sadness and laughter represents joy. Are joy and sadness the same thing? How can I cry and laugh at the same time? How can I cry and laugh at all? 

The last time I had laughed was…when was the last time I had laughed? At Fletz, in the guestroom. But that had been the first time in eleven thousand years. Now I am laughing again? What is wrong with me? What is this insane feeling in me?

Every time I had thought of Zieg and sadness filled me, I started to train with my sword, as if physical labor could take my mind off of emotional grief. But these tears had somehow escaped that, breaking down my mental barriers.

I neither laughed nor cried. And now I am doing both. 

Unsure of anything in the universe, I sit down on the carpet and tuck my knees up to my chest, making myself as small as possible. Leave me alone, everything, just leave me be. Maybe if I am so small that they cannot see me, they cannot put responsibility on my shoulders. They cannot throw grief and sadness and anger at me. I put my hands over my face, hiding myself from the world, crying through my bare fingers. 

When the shuddering of my body stops, I stay very still for several seconds, then stand up. Calmly, pushing everything aside until I am numb, I pick up a comb on the dresser and drag it through my hair so that it is in softly falling waves again. Idly, not allowing myself to think, I pick up my headpieces and refasten them to my hair. Numbing myself, I pull on my dark gloves, pick up my sword and sheathe it in the scabbard. 

I walk over to Claire and put my hands over hers. She cannot feel it, nor can she hear me, but I speak anyway. "I'm sorry, Claire. I'm sorry for what I almost did. Forgive me." I bow my head and stand up, facing Zieg. 

"My love, I miss you. I wish that it were I that sat in this chair. But it isn't. And I shall do nothing to change it. Be happy, my darling, even if I cannot." I lean forward and kiss his cheek, receiving no response. I am not surprised but for some reason it hurts me. 

"And Dart." I speak to the swollen belly. "I'll be seeing you." 

For a moment the laughter stops, and I almost imagine that they can see me, but then Claire resumes talking and Zieg resumes listening to her with a smile on his face. 

"Savan." I call out to the only person who can hear me. "Take me back. I want to leave. I have faced my challenge." 

The firelight fades and Zieg and Claire disappear. I am back in the darkness, on the platform of golden wires. Savan stands in front of me with a sad wistful look in his old eyes. "It was for that strength and courage that I admired you, Rose."

"I was not strong. I almost made the wrong choice."

"Yes, but you stopped yourself in time. That in itself was a challenge. Jealousy can blind a person's soul." Savan smiles. "You still have tears on your face."

I wipe my gloved hands furiously across my eyes, drying everything. "Thanks." I mutter.

"You are not ready for you friends to see the true Rose yet?"

"No. They see me as a cold woman who leads them down the path. Perhaps it is better this way."

Savan shakes his head. "You understand even more than I gave you credit for."

"I am not ignorant." I correct him. "Did I pass your little courage test?"

"Rose, you passed before you even took it. You have enough courage and strength. That is why Charle Frahma chose you to be the Black Monster, the one who saved the world every 108 years."

I cut him off with a sharp motion of my hand. "That is enough. I don't want to be reminded of the Black Monster." I pause. "Please bring me back to the others." _They are my will to survive._

The darkness changes and lengthens and I am back in Aglis, on the dark violet pod. I step off quickly, rejoining the others across the bridge. Judging by the looks on their faces they had gone through similar challenges. 

"Rose." Dart calls. "Are you all right? You look different."

"I'm fine." I say briskly. 

Meru shifts from one foot to the other. "I hope our courage will be able to make the Psychedelic Bomb."

"It is the creation from thousands of years of effort by Savan. We have a huge responsibility."

__

As Dragoons we have responsibility.

"We obtained an unexpected city. Now we can wait for Zieg at the Signet Sphere." Albert says quietly. "We all know what this means, don't we?"

"If we can stop my dad in this city, the world will be saved. That's it." Dart states flatly. "Let's go. Savan is waiting."

There are no more winding mazes or masses of teleporters. Just another long corridor and then we are at where we need to be.

Savan turns when he sees us. "Your courage was more than enough, brave Dragoons. The Psychedelic Bomb is more powerful than I had originally expected it to be." He holds out one frail hand and on it rests a large glittering crystal. Irregularly shaped and tinted with a strange molten-lava color, it does not look like it could be too powerful, and yet I can sense the energy in it straining to get out.

"Is this the Psychedelic Bomb?" Haschel asks, picking it up and reeling with the energy flow. Though none of these new Dragoons is accustomed to magic as I am, their minds are still sensitive enough to sense magic power. Also, Meru is a Wingly, so perhaps she too, can sense more magic than the rest of them.

"The Psychedelic Bomb X." Savan corrects. "It is more powerful than I anticipated."

"How do we use it?" Miranda asks brusquely.

"As a weapon. As you can all sense, I'm sure, the energy inside is fighting to get out. All it needs is a target." Savan smiles and turns around to show us the rest of the room. "Let me show it. This is the Signet Sphere that has continued to seal the Moon That Never Sets, the flesh of the God of Destruction, and evil fruit that is settled in the sky." He gestures to a large machine glowing with light to a mortal's eye, but to a Dragoon's eye, there is magic surrounding it. Bountiful unlimited magic, powerful magic. This is what I had sensed on the cliff. 

"And this…" Savan says, as a large creature enters. It is very large, perhaps four times my height. I am reminded of some sort of hermit crab as I look at the white creature with two tentacles in front of it, acting as arms. "Is Last Kraken. A magic creature that was born to guard the Signet Sphere. But we have you. It may not be needed."

Lulu giggles, sort of. "And Moot will start working!"

Dart peers over the edge of the walkway at a glowing red light in the center of three thick rods. "That red light is Moot, the new Signet?"

It does not look like much, but like I had told Miranda in the Forbidden Land, you mustn't judge the power of a magical object by its size.

Savan nods. "When Moot is activated and the new Signet covers the Moon That Never Sets, the ambitions of that man will be terminated. The—"

A scream interrupts him, a muffled animal scream. Last Kraken starts to writhe, the two tentacles flailing violently, striking out at empty air as if struggling. What is it struggling against? I don't see anything. I can't feel anything either. 

"Last Kraken!" Savan cries. "What is it doing?" The old Wingly grows transparent wings and hovers near the high ceiling. "What is going on?!" 

An amused voice answers him. "That was a poor introduction of me."

I drag my sword out of its sheath. "That voice. It's you, Zieg!" 

It is impossible to believe that I am speaking to the same man that I had just seen in my challenge, the same man that had looked so happy and content. What had driven him to this insanity? What had happened after Melbu Frahma cast the spell on him, turning him to stone? What had happened on the night the Black Monster attacked? So many questions, and no answers. 

"Dad! Where are you?" Dart yells.

"In front of you."

"Don't tell me it's been manipulated." Savan murmurs, looking at the writhing guardian of the Signet Sphere. "It cannot be."

"Yes it is." I growl. _But how can Zieg manipulate a living creature? Never before had he shown this power. Not even the Dragoons have this power! _"It is controlling the heart of Last Kraken!" I lower my sword and look around. "Zieg! Are you saying the 11,000 years of rest brought you magic powers?!"

"Yes, isn't it an astonishing evolution? Eventually I will go beyond everything."

"Father, tell me! Why do you need to annihilate the world?" 

"Because it is in the intention of the Creator Soa. And now, it is my intention as well." Zieg replies, still unseen. 

Last Kraken stops struggling and raises its head, emitting a low growl that reverberates around the room. Dart draws his sword and the others raise their weapons. 

"Dart," Zieg calls. "Are you now only pointing a sword against your own father, but also pointing a sword again Soa, who created you? And Savan, don't you think it is a waste to stop the birth of a god by disobeying the intention of Soa? You are all silly. It seems the Moon Mirror that Lloyd struggled to get was not necessary. Go, Last Kraken! Destroy the Signet Sphere and Moot along with this city!!"

"Everybody, we gotta stop him!" Dart yells over the rumbling. "I won't let you have your way, Father!" 

I leap off the walkway and land in front of Last Kraken. _I am sorry to do this, guardian, but it must be done._

Raising my sword, I narrow my eyes as the rest of them take up battle positions nearby me. It seems like a flash of motion and the battle begins. Dart is already standing next to me. He is always next to me; the two of us always seem to stand in the beginning of the strange cluster of seven Dragoons during battles.

I dance forward, striking and slicing with my sword. I can feel the magic thrumming in the air; I call on it to make my attacks stronger, adding an extra fire in my swift movements. My mouth twists into a grimace, knowing that no one will notice.

Up until now, I had tried to convince myself that perhaps Zieg was evil. He wasn't really trying to create the destruction of the world. Maybe…maybe it was some twisted joke or a test or _something_, anything from what I now see as the truth. From some tiny part of my mind, his actions up until now didn't necessarily have to be considered evil. 

But as I stare into the bloodshot eyes of the Last Kraken, I frown in anguish. His magical powers had grown past the capabilities of a Dragoon and manipulating the guardian was unforgivable. I didn't understand it. He had always been so honorable, so noble…

"Demon's Dance!" I hiss, trying to take away my despair by anger. That was what I had done for eleven thousand years. I used my cold exterior to cover up the torn feelings that frayed my being inside. But like I told Savan, it was necessary. 

Kongol and Meru attack simultaneously, the large Giganto lumbering forward and bringing the giant axe down on the guardian's slippery hide, while the petite Wingly twirls and smashes with her intricate hammer. Once the Winglies had ruled over the Gigantos, and now times have changed. 

Yeah, and it only took eleven thousand years. I think sarcastically. 

Last Kraken decides to counterattack just as I run forward. Its left tentacle raises up, and I brace my feet, skidding to a stop. I lift my sword arm in a futile gesture to defend myself. I can feel resistance on the sword and something whips across my left cheek. I cry out in anger rather than pain, jerking my sword forward. 

The monster screams, and I leap back, feeling blood on my face. Something is writhing on the ground, and now I see that I had cut off the tip of its tentacle. I make a face, and my cheek hurts again. I step back from the front of the ranks, letting Haschel take my place, and reach into a pouch on my hip to find a healing item. My fingers close around a vial and I pull it out, only to realize that it is empty. I curse, tossing the glass bottle against the ground in anger.

"Be calm." Miranda says, her eyes never leaving her opponent. "Here."

I stare at her outstretched hand for a moment, and the healing item in it. After hesitating for half a second, I take the item and unscrew the cap, downing the bluish liquid in one gulp. Almost immediately I can feel the results, with the wound on my cheek healing and becoming pale unmarred skin again. The fatigue in my body subsides some, and I rush back to the front of the group, sword raised. Haschel gladly steps aside, in need of a healing item himself. 

Instead of using my sword, I call on the power inside the Dragoon Spirit and transform. The deep violet armor seems to weigh nothing at all, and I feel as if the delicate-looking wings can maneuver me to the Moon That Never Sets if I want them to. 

"Astral Drain!" I yell, tossing my sword like a spear to penetrate Last Kraken's hide. It shrieks, feeling its energy being drained out. I can hear Albert giving a short sigh of relief as the energy conveys to him, restoring some of his strength.

Usually it is I that is the fiercest fighter in the group, but as I watch amusedly, Dart lunges forward, striking in just the right places, never seeming to tire. His face is drawn tight and his eyes are narrowed. What drives him to this anger? Is it the fact that Shana is still missing? The fact that his father is now his enemy? The fact that he can do nothing to solve either of those problems? 

With the magic that flows in the city of Aglis, the Dragoons are more powerful than they would have been outside the borders and in the human cities. Last Kraken falls easily, and I release the power, willing the armor and the wings to disappear until I am human again. 

"We did it." Meru breathes, staring at the white mass sprawled out in front of her. "Now what can we do about the Signet?" 

"DANGER. DANGER."

I look around for the origins of the voice, realizing it is the more mechanical sound of a machine. 

Savan calls out, landing on the floor. "The Signet Sphere is resonating with the runaway reaction of Moot!"

"Why?!" Dart yells back, stumbling back a step as the room begins to shake. "We prevented the attack of Last Kraken!"

Savan frowns. "The field of power generated by the Dragoons triggered the runaway reaction."

__

The power of the Dragoons was too much for the Signet Sphere to handle. Both the old and the new signets were affected by the magic. But with so much power…Aglis is going to be destroyed.
    
    "Sorry, I'll teleport you!" Savan holds up his hands. I open my mouth to stop him—

The lightheaded feeling of teleportation washes over me and suddenly I am outside of the room, back in the corridor. I hear the others landing beside me, and then the sound of the door slamming shut.

Dart sheathes his sword, running up to the sealed door and pounding on it with his fists. "Savan! You have to come too!"

The old Wingly's voice floats through the door, and I feel it more than hear it. "I will see this until the end. You should hurry to the next city. The Signet Sphere of Aglis is now being destroyed." 

I offer Meru a hand up and walk over to the door, where Dart is still trying to break through. "Are you starting it alone? And ending it alone too!" The red-clad warrior yells, drawing his sword and slashing at the doors. "Savan!" 

"Even if my body vanishes, my heart will remain. It will give you wings to fly the sky, to the Moon That Never Sets, where Zieg is heading."

Furious, I kick the door. "I still have something to ask you!" I scream. _You were the one watching me all these years. You must know the answer to my questions! Savan! You cannot die now, not yet!_

"Rose, I am grateful." Savan's voice is gentle. "Rose, you…were…my…"

The explosion cuts him off before he can finish. The magical energy that fills the air is immense, so that I drop down my hands and knees, and the Dragoon Spirit cries out in psychic pain. When the magic stops, I climb shakily to my feet.

__

Savan, what were you going to say? I cannot help but wonder, but his mind signature is gone. I cannot feel his presence anymore, and that can only mean one thing.

I hold out a hand and help Dart to his feet. I can see the obvious suffering in his eyes. He believes that he could have done more, perhaps saved the old Wingly.

"We have no time for being sad." I tell him coldly. 

Wordlessly, the entire group travels through the corridors, until we come across one of the magical creatures. Miranda's eyes widen and she kneels down beside it, gathering it into her lap. "Buckle." She says. "You are?!"

Buckle opens its eyes lazily. "Miranda, you are still annoying, uck." It declares almost crossly, but then, "Are the other people safe, uck?"

"Don't say anything." Miranda orders through her teeth.

The creature shakes its head. "Savan died. Buckle and other creatures cannot live without Savan, uck." 

"Can't we do something for you?" Miranda, as a Sacred Sister, apparently feels an obligation to help those in pain. "Can't you be saved with a Dragoon's power? Answer me!"

Buckle frowns. "Be quiet, uck. Good night, uck." Its head lolls to its side. 

The blonde woman shakes it, annoyed. "Are you playing dead again?" She demands. "Give me a break!"

Buckle speaks without moving. "We can meet again soon, uck. Closing my eyes…and soon, uck…"

Miranda lays down its body on the cold floor, and stands up, glaring. "Damn." She swears. 

The next room, the mirror room, is the same. Decal and Spino are there, and their lives are fading too. The group moves to help them, to comfort them in their last time, but I am drawn to the mirror in the center of the room. 

"You must…see, pino."

An image of Zieg appears, flickering a few times and becoming sharply clear. He is clad entirely in red battle armor, and he holds the Moon Mirror in his hands. He smirks at the Mille Seseau national treasure and then tosses it deliberately to the ground. The Divine Moon Object shatters, and the image flickers once. 

Miranda gasps, and I draw in my breath sharply. "The Moon Mirror is broken?" 

"Because the Signet Sphere of Aglis was destroyed he doesn't need it anymore, pino. Zieg is in the Law City Zenebatos. Go hurry, pino."

"But how can we go?" Dart asks calmly.

"We connected the teleport device, cal. Please keep rolling for Decal, cal."

I wait for a few seconds. "They're dead." I announce, as if anyone does not know. "They opened our road with their last power."

"We won't waste your death." Dart promises.

Ruff is in the next room, and I walk over to him. Almost tenderly, I cradle its head in my lap. Ruff opens its eyes and looks up at me. "Rose. Ruff has been here forever, ruff. Ruff only knows view…and sounds in here, ruff. It's rough, ruff. Ruff wanted to go outside at least once."

"Don't worry." My voice is with unaccustomed gentleness, soothing the magical creatures in his last moments. "Now, you can go out."

Ruff gives his version of a smile. "Okay, ruff. It's rough, ruff." He sighs.

I hold it for a moment longer and then lay it down on the ground, gently, as if he is still there, and can feel it.

"These babies are dead too." Meru's voice cracks and I can see tears in her eyes. 

Dart rests his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword. "So that their death won't be in vain, we have to move on."

__

Strange. Since when was it Dart that herded the party along?

We return to the sealed room that had been to the left of the corridor we had first arrived in. The door is now open, and the entire group files inside silently. 

__

They had only been magical creatures. Little beings with one purpose. We didn't even know them that well, and yet we all mourn their deaths…even I. 

The dancer is gazing at the teleporter in the center of the room, large enough for the entire group to stand on. "This looks like the one in my forest." She comments.

I nudge it with my foot, as if expecting it to come to life. "This can take us to Zenebatos instantly." I shake my head. "It's completely different. Winglies had such astonishing magic power moving between cities instantly like this."

Haschel shrugs, his hands clenched. "It's astonishing all right, but I cannot accept life being generated by magic. It's kinda depressing, being born to do just one thing."

"The Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction was born only to do one thing." Dart reminds him thoughtfully. "I wonder if its existence holds the same sorrow?"

I toss my hair over my shoulder contemptuously. "Well then, let's make it feel better. By making sure it will never be born. Come on. We have to protect the next Signet Sphere."


	8. The Trials of Zenebatos

Author's note: I'm sorry. I forgot what happened in Zenebatos, so I'm making this up off the top of my head. It's been a while since I played the game. ****

Zenebatos

The first thing that registered in my mind as we entered the Law City was brightness. My vision consists only of a bright sienna color. Quickly I adjust to the change in brightness and look around. 

"So this is Zenebatos." Dart mutters. "Not much to look at."

I have to agree. It had once been a bustling city, but now it seems rather lifeless. The stone platforms are covered in a thick layer of dust, like a pyramid that has remained undiscovered for eleven thousand years. The only modern or clean things are the strange machines scattered all over, coming up to my waist. I walk over to the edge of the platform, looking down the sheer precipitous side at the marsh below. 

"Albert, you must love this place." Haschel comments.

The Serdian king nods. "I know that this used to be the Law City, where the laws were passed. There must be so much knowledge here...but that is not what we are here for." 

Meru sprouts her wings and hovers up to a higher platform, ignoring the teleporter. Frowning, she observes the foreign machine and runs her hand along it. "What is this?"

Miranda gasps. "Dart, look!" 

Something flickers in my mind, and I look up to see a shadow crossing over me. It arches in a semi-loop and skids to a stop next to the platform. I frown at the magical creature. It is shaped like a manta ray, colored in a sky blue and sprinkled with patches of orange. Its eyes are located on the top of its head, slanted to look at us. 

"I am Coolon." It announces itself. "Would you like to have wings?"

Dart takes his hand away from the hilt of his sword. "Savan told us that he would give us wings to cross the sky."

"Would you like to have wings?" Coolon repeats.

The red-clad warrior glances at the rest of us. "Maybe it would be wise to rest up before roaming Zenebatos. We don't know how it might have changed from when Rose knew it. Let's go back to a city and rest." 

"Can we go back to Deningrad?" Miranda asks. "I would like to inform Her Majesty Queen Theresa of what has happened."

"Of course." Dart turns back to the large creature, flat and broad enough for all of us to stand on. "But can you support all this weight?"

"Yes." Coolon confirms. "Climb on my back and I shall give you wings."

Awkwardly, we all file on, taking up different positions. I claim the right wing, seeing as how it has space and it would be easier for me to attack if I were to see an enemy closing in.

When Kongol has settled into a comfortable position near the back, Coolon rises up with no indication that he cannot support the weight. Zenebatos becomes nothing more than a blur of color as we gain altitude. I am mildly surprised at the speed and strength of the magical creature. Even with my wings and millennia of experience I could not go this fast. 

"Where are we?" Kongol rumbles the question.

"I don't know." Dart replies over his shoulder, yelling over the roar of the wind. "I've never been here before! Ask Rose!"

I must brace my feet against the cool skin in order to keep my balance. "We're in the westernmost part of the world. Zenebatos is located on a small island near the Broken Islands, between the Strait of Walter and Rudra Bay. We fly northeast to get to Deningrad." 

"Meru, you okay?" Haschel asks.

The petite dancer is lying on her stomach, clenching at Coolon's skin to avoid flying off. "I've never been this high up before!" She yells.

I sit with my legs tucked to one side. "You'll get used to it."

The reconstruction of Deningrad has begun, and the citizens are hard at it. They have imported some building supplies from Tiberoa, but I can see that they still stick to their original architecture. Miranda sweeps in the city with one glance of her amber eyes and immediately begins taking long strides to the Crystal Palace.

Queen Theresa is pleased to see us. After an elaborate meal, she allows us to tell her about our long journey. I do not stick around for the entire story. I mutter an excuse about being tired and return to the room I was assigned to, locking the door and curling up on the bed. 

Zieg, why are you doing this? Didn't you fight to save the world?

I put my arms around my ankles and rest my chin on my knees. _The only thing left as hope for the world is the seven of us. The Dragoons. Meru, Haschel, Kongol, Miranda, Albert, Rose, and Dart. Not really seeming to be heroes and yet we had accomplished enough in the past year to be hailed as heroes. Led by Dart, we found our way._

Dart, what drives you? What goes on in your mind? What fuels you to do what you do? I had always been mildly surprised at the warrior's passion. It didn't seem to be what others would feel. Dart took things as his own, driven by a passion, something unseen. If he believed in something, he would follow it. He accepted repentant enemies as friends and trusted those that he did not know. He reminded me of Zieg at his age. And yet I had never noticed the same passion in Zieg as I do in Dart. Of course Zieg was courageous and brave and he fought for what he believed in. But Dart was different. He had something…I didn't understand.

I shut off the lamp and lie down to rest. Perhaps one day, when this is all over, I will understand. 

In the morning Dart wakens the rest of us, earlier than even I am used to.

He knocks on my door once, calling out my name, and then moves on to Meru's room, next to mine. At first I was surprised, but then I stood and washed up, exiting the room and heading for the throne room.

The others are awake, just barely. Haschel is sitting in one of the chairs, half-closed eyes dazed and sleepy. Meru keeps yawning and Kongol leans his weight on his axe, snoring heavily. Dart must poke all of them to get them awake. "You can sleep on the flight back to Zenebatos." He tells them. "But for now we have to go."

I am oddly proud of him in a way. He knows that the world is at stake here. The Signet Sphere of Aglis has already been destroyed. There are only two left. Sleep can be sacrificed for the world. I remember Zieg does the same thing, gathering together the rest of them and explaining, commanding gently but firmly. And then had obeyed him. Yet Zieg shared his thoughts with everyone, or at least me. Dart does not. Is it because Shana is not here for him to speak to, or because he has learned or decided upon something that he does not want us to know? 

Leaving Deningrad silently, so as not to wake up anyone, we call Coolon by our Dragoon Spirits. Coolon is not sensitive enough to hone in on our Spirits, but the light of the seven elements dims even the sun on the horizon and the magical creature flutters to the ground, giving us easy access. It has probably been sleeping ever since we arrived in Deningrad, for it is not the least bit groggy.

When we land in Zenebatos, we stand in front of the strange machine I had noticed during out first visit here. There is something sitting on it, a creature dressed in a beige hood and robe. Beyond it is a teleporter. When we try to step onto it, the creature stops us, speaking in a mechanically altered tone.

"I am Guide Lapto 00. Wingly Code Article 703 prohibits non-Winglies from going to the Signet Sphere." 

"Hey!" Meru says, indignant. She squeezes around Kongol to stand in front of the Lapto with her hands on her hips. "I'm a Wingly! Why can't I get in?"

The creature turns its face to her and shakes its head.

"Your Wingly magic must not be enough, Meru." Albert tells her, and the petite dancer sulks back, muttering under her breath.

"I don't understand. Meru is a Wingly, but even if her magic is not enough, she is a Dragoon. Shouldn't that magic compensate for it?" Haschel asks. "We're all Dragoons. We have magic, enough not to be classified as Humans."

"Eleven thousand years ago, this was a Wingly city. The Winglies took precautions that no one other than themselves could get in, including the Dragoons." I pause, chewing my bottom lip thoughtfully. "Dragoon magic is in certain ways different from Wingly magic. So even if we are not human, as long as we don't have Wingly magic, we can't get to the Signet Sphere. It was this way eleven thousand years ago as well."

"That's good." Dart says thoughtfully. "If that law prohibits all non-Winglies, then my father cannot get through either." 

"No." I say sharply. "Zieg is very resourceful. He will find a way; I do not doubt that. We have to be there to stop him. We can't rely on these stupid laws; Zieg will find a way to get around them. We have to find a way to change these laws." 

Leaving the Guide Lapto to its job, we discuss a way to get to the Signet Sphere. 

"We could transform to Dragoons and just fight our way to the Signet Sphere." Miranda suggests. I like that idea. It has been a while since a good fight. There is not the same abundance of power and magic here as there was in Aglis, but I like a challenge.

"No. It's too risky. Too many things could go wrong." 

After shooting down a couple more ideas, Dart is interrupted when Albert clears his throat. "I think I have a way." The Serdian king says mildly. "We're in the Law City, correct? So we should play by their rules: have the law changed. We'll just follow the rules and get it changed legally. This way no one gets hurt and the Lapto can't stop us.

"If I remember correctly from my ruling in the Indels Castle, I had to get the approval from the council first in order to make a law. Then with their permission, I had to go to the law factory to make it official. They will make it into a law form. Afterwards, the form must be taken to the enforcement, which will make the law public for everyone and then uphold the law.

"And also judging from what I have been studying, all we have to do is get the license from the legislation center counsel, and change the law. Then go to the law factory and speak to whoever is in charge there. Afterwards, we go to the law launcher and the law will be revised." 

There are a few moments of silence. Albert simply looks around, surprised at our bewildered faces.

Kongol shakes his massive head. "Gigantos lose to books. Kongol just follow friends."

Since he seems to know so much about what to do about a law, Dart steps aside and lets Albert lead the group through the flying platforms, rushing to the front only when there is a battle with monsters. 

To my immense annoyance, we must wait in line behind several Lapto that want to have other laws revised. Even eleven thousand years after the fall of this Wingly city, the entire mood of it hasn't disappeared. 

When it is our turn, the council does not indicate that it registers us as humans, or at least, that it doesn't care. "Do you want to revise a law?"

"Yes." Albert's head is held high so that he looks like he is back at his castle, in charge and just, ready to be obeyed.

"Which law do you wish to revise?"

"Article 703." The king speaks smoothly, confident. 

The Lapto debate this for a while and then holds out something in its hand. "Approved. Take this to the Law Factory." 

"Thank you." Albert steps forward and takes the license. After he is off the floor, another Lapto takes his place.

"We have it." The king says quietly. "Now all we have to do is take it to the law factory and then the law launcher." 

I simply shake my head and follow orders. For all the years of my life, the government and politics had perplexed me. While I admired their effectiveness and power, I much rather preferred the self-efficiency of the very old days, before even I lived, when it had been every person for herself. 

After hopping from platform to platform, we finally revise the law and the Guide Lapto 00 allows us to go through without any trouble. The last flying platform takes us to the Great Court.

It is a magnificent building, set in the same shades as the rest of the Law City Zenebatos, but very nicely built, with a good architecture and a strong foundation. Beyond the walkway would be the Great Court. Now it would only be a matter of convincing them to let us protect the Signet Sphere.

I vaguely remember that after Lloyd joined the party, we had been traveling through the Snow Fields. There had been an avalanche and we had slid down the slope. Near the bottom there was a door saying that no one could go through it, signed by Judge Nomos of the Great Court of Zenebatos. 

So Nomos is still here. 

The flying platform lets us off gently, and I stretch without moving. There is something wrong. 

The Lapto turns its face toward us and seems to be scanning us. "Dart, Rose, Albert, Haschel, Meru, Kongol, Miranda. The Court is waiting for you."

I keep my hand on the hilt of my sword as I proceed through the entrance. 

"Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty." 

The word echoes through the room as we enter; the court is in a stir. I narrow my eyes at all the sentient beings as they observe us, muttering, "Guilty."

Judge Nomos reminds me of a rare monster I had fought a few hundred years back as he floats in front of us. His eyes gleam with an unholy light. "These seven beings are charged with treason to Soa!" 

"Treason to Soa?" Dart echoes, incredulous. "My father must have already been here! He's manipulating the judge!"

"Penalty: Death! Come out! Winged executioners! Vector, Selebus, Kubila! Start the execution!" 

The monsters drop from an unseen portal in the ceiling, and I draw my sword with a loud scraping of metal, my mind already registering what kind of monsters these are. 

Selebus smiles, showing her teeth, and the battle begins. I can feel the rest of the group already moving in the lethal dance of battle. 

__

Guilty, guilty, guilty. The word echoes in my head. 

Guilt had been consuming me since I had taken on the responsibility of becoming a Dragoon. Even before I had been the Black Monster, I had been a Dragoon and I had fought in the Dragon Campaign. I had killed Winglies. They had been my enemies, but they had been living beings and I had killed them. The guilt of that rested upon my shoulders multiplied a thousandfold by the deaths of the people I had killed as the Black Monster. 

I can still almost feel the power flowing through my fingertips. _Neet…_

"Where is Princess Louvia?"  __

The soldier glared up at the Black Monster with defiant eyes. "I'll never tell you where our princess is."

"It is your last chance. Where is the princess?"

"A monster like you should rot in hell."

The energy… the Black Monster had clutched its hands on the soldier's shoulders and began the transfer there. Every spark of energy that the soldier was became the Black Monster's. Every little power that gave him the ability to see, to hear, to move, to breathe, to _live_, that energy transferred through the smoky black claws and the soldier slumped to the ground, lifeless and gone. 

That had been one out of the millions of deaths that the Black Monster had taken. But I had remembered that one clearly because of the power. That soldier had been strong, in all possible ways. His defiance, his strength, his love, his courage, his loyalty, all that was transformed into sheer power and that had entered me as my own strength. The hands that now tried to save the world had drained the life out of an innocent soldier and millions more. It didn't change a thing, what I killed for. In the end all it bubbled down to was that I had murdered and that I am guilty. There is no denying it. 

I stop in the midst of battle, staring down at my hands, bare of their gloves, bloodstained. Small hands, almost dove-like, pale and delicate. When had I stopped wearing my gloves? "These hands…" I whisper. "Have taken countless lives." _Will saving the world rectify all that? If I die, will my sins be repented? Will I be free of the guilt? Or will that follow me even to the afterlife? _

I steel myself. There is no predicting the future. I must live now, for the present. My sword thrusts forward, breaking Vector's sienna skin and drawing more blood. 

"Demon's Dance!" 

Guardians of the Signet Sphere, if only you knew…

"Blazing Dynamo!" 

__

Zieg, if only you could see what you are doing…

"Bone Crush!" 

Selebus is the healer in the group, so we take her out first. Her angel wings flap listlessly once more as she falls to the ground. An angel fallen, snow white wings on the floor. Does it make me a demon, to be killing an angel? 

__

If we can't stop Zieg from destroying this Signet Sphere, then the only thing left between life and death will be the Signet Sphere of Mayfil. I draw a gash along Kubila's throat. _No. I have fought too hard and sacrificed too much for it to end. I must keep the world safe. _

When the battle is over, and the three executioners are sprawled on the ground, the Judge Nomos looks at us once and stands aside, whether out of fear or respect I don't know. Maybe there is no difference.

"Come on!" Dart sheathes his sword and shoves past the Judge, down the walkway leading to the Signet Sphere. It leads outside, to bright sunlight blocked by the silhouette of a figure clad in sleek red armor.

"Zieg!" My voice is an animal howl torn from my soul.

My former fiancé is standing over the Signet Sphere of Zenebatos, his face twisted in a leer. Something small and glittering is in his hand, and it takes me a moment to realize that it is the Moon Dagger. He looks up for half a second, and then back at the Divine Moon Object, lifting it over his head.

"No! Dad, stop!" Dart yells. 

Zieg tosses the Dagger almost carelessly. The blade tumbles end over end and buries itself in the Signet Sphere. He looks up. "You're too late. No one can stop the will of Soa!" 

I draw my sword, feeling its cool weight against my bare hand. "I'm sorry, my darling." I whisper, and leap, stabbing upward.

But Zieg reacts quickly, his hands forming a lightning flash of lava colors. The energy sphere leaps out of his hands and strikes me in the chest. My headlong rush reverses, slamming me back to the ground. 

"Rose!" Dart runs forward, sword drawn. 

I blink, dazed. My head is spinning and something is lodged under my back, right next to my spinal cord. I must have landed flat on my back. My nerves seem shot and I can't move. I blink, as the human outlines turn into blurry shapes.

"Fool." Zieg growls in derision, glaring at me, watching as Dart cups his hand under my elbow and helps me to my feet. I stumble once, my eyes slitting. The Dragoon Spirit flares.

"There is only one Signet Sphere left." Zieg calls mockingly. "Do you think you can stop me in time?" His laughter fades as he floats away.

"Damn!" Dart runs forward, and having nothing to support my weight, I fall back down again. Embarrassing. 

"Rose, are you all right?" The Wind Dragoon helps me to stand.

"My head." I say shortly, as he transforms into a green blur. I shake my head.

"Here, stand aside." Miranda kneels in front of me. "Her eyes are unfocused." She lifts the Dragoon Spirit of the White Silver Dragon of Healing off her neck and holds it in front of my face. 

Darkness explodes into light and the pounding in my head goes away. I strike the heel of my hand against the side of my head and my vision sharpens. "Thanks." I mutter quietly, standing. "Come on. He's getting away."

"No." Dart stops me with a single word. He doesn't even look at me, just at the destroyed Signet Sphere. His eyes hold the gaze of someone far away. "He's already gone and it's getting late. We'll rest here and start in the morning."

With that he walks back to the Court, silent. 

"What happened to him?" Meru asks.

"He's thinking about Shana." Haschel says knowingly. "Leave him." 

I sit on top of the platform, thinking. 

He tried to kill me. If he had any more time to charge up, his energy blast would have seriously hurt me. 

Now I understood why Dart had been so upset when I had tried to slay Shana right in front of him. Betrayal. He had trusted me and I betrayed his trust. I had trusted Zieg and he betrayed me. 

I am upset and pained because Zieg had tried to kill me. And yet, I had tried to kill him as well. Is he feeling this pain as well? This hurt and betrayal? No, most likely not. I felt it because I still loved him. I still reminisced about the old days when there was a smile on my face. He didn't, I am sure of it. Our unbroken silver cord that seemed to connect our heart and soul was severed. He is gone now.

Zieg had once declared to Emperor Diaz that even if he and I died, our bonds of affection would still remain. Yet neither of us is dead, and that bond is already gone. Vanished. Nothing affectionate lies in his mind, only thoughts to obey Soa and destroy the world.

How ironic. Zieg, the hero who had sacrificed his life to save the world, now aiding the hand of evil. Once praised, now scorned and feared. I twist my lips into a sardonic smile. The Black Monster was feared and hated and Zieg's creation. He had figured out the true meaning of the prophecy of the Moon Child and he had sworn that he would never let it happen. If he had not been spelled, he would be the Black Monster. But after I thought he died, I vowed to continue his legacy. That was why I became the despised Black Monster. 

I tilt my head back. Eleven thousand years ago, we were to be married. Now we are enemies. I still remember the first time I had tried to fly.

"Zieg! It feel so wonderful, so free!" __

"Rose, slow down! You're going too fast for a beginner; your magic will run out! Rose! …Rose!"

"Aah!" 

"Rose!"

He had caught me before I hit the ground and all I could do was sob, a pathetic heap in his arms. He had been so caring and gentle, wiping away my tears.

"Shh…sweetheart, don't cry. You're safe now." 

"Zieg…I don't want to try that again."

"You have to. It's your duty."

"I…don't want to…fall again."

"You won't. I'll be with you. I promise."

With his promise, I felt safe and secure. I mastered flying and Dragoon magic. Everything was perfect.

I sigh, looking at the dusty landscape of Zenebatos. I miss the days when love still existed within me. I had loved flying hand-in-hand with him, or riding together on the back of a Dragon, nuzzling my cheek against his shoulder. Things had been so innocent then.

Zieg, my love, will you take this to the end?

Zieg's energy blast must have drained me more than I thought. I slept through most of the morning. When I finally awakened, it was near midday. I sit up surprised. 

"Well, Sleeping Beauty finally woke up." Haschel's voice comes from my left and I turn to see him and Miranda.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, accepting a wet towel from Miranda to wipe off any dirt of oil that might have accumulated on my face while I slept.

"They are changing another law." The Sacred Sister looks up from examining the string on her bow. "Albert had an idea to change a law so that we could teleport directly to Mayfil and the last Signet Sphere. But Dart didn't want to wake you, and he didn't want to leave you by yourself, so Haschel and I got stuck babysitting."

Instead of snapping back a reply as she may have expected, I merely nod. "Thank you." Ignoring her surprised expression, I ask, "How long have I been out?"

"It's almost midday." Haschel informs me. "The others left a while ago. They should be back soon." 

Indeed, no more than ten minutes later, the rest of the group returns. 

"Rose, how are you feeling?" Dart asks gently.

"Fine." There is a pain in his eyes I have not seen before. He has been thinking of Shana, and he must have come across a new revelation. I will ask him about it later. "We can go to Mayfil now?" 

"Yes. We had the law changed again." Albert says. "We can take the teleporter we used to get here and go directly to Mayfil." 

"Let's go right now." Meru suggests. "We have all the supplies we need, and we're all rested up. There's no reason to delay anymore." 

I turn my head slightly to observe her. For the first time I realize how much she has grown from the empty-headed ditzy dancer girl that had insisted on tagging along with us since Donau. She has grown not only physically but mentally as well. Perhaps this journey has its good points. 

"She's right. There's no point in staying here anymore." Dart says. "Let's go." 


	9. The deaths of Mayfil

Author's Note: Take care of this posting. I've put in some vital clues. 

Rating: Probably PG for some mild cursing (in my opinion), and maybe some blood, but who actually cares?

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Dragoon or any of its characters and whatever. What's the point of these things anyway?

****

Mayfil

__

The Death City is a dreary place, as one would expect. The stench of rot hangs acridly in the air. Silent screams of torment echo. I draw my sword; there will be many angry monsters and specters here. 

Miranda takes one look around and stumbles, nearly falling off the platform. I grab onto her elbow before she can pass out.

The Sacred Sister leans over the edge of the platform, her hands on her knees, breathing rapidly.

"Take it easy." I tell her, gathering her golden hair in one fist and holding it away from her face, as she becomes sick.

"The voices." She replies, her eyes widening. "The pain…" 

When the others move forward to help her, I hold up my hand. "No. Let her deal with it. The same thing happened to Shirley when she came here. The pain and the devastation of the screaming souls here affect the Light Dragoons in a bad way. She'll get used to it in a second." 

A few minutes later, Miranda turns back to us, shaking but otherwise fine. "Let's go." She snaps, gripping her bow very tightly in one fist. "Zieg isn't going to wait for us to show up before destroying the Signet." 

She falls into step with me. "You've been here before?"

"Yes. Eleven thousand years ago. I've stayed away from it since. I don't like this place. Like you, my mind is sensitive. You hear the screaming and anguish of the souls, and as Light Dragoon and a Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau, it is all you can do to try and help it. Maybe you should stick to the back until you get used to it."

"I'm not weak." She snarls at me. 

I nod, business-like. "Good." 

I look around as I walk down the pathways leading to the inner structure of the dark castle-like building. "I can't believe this place still exists." I comment. "Mayfil was destroyed in the Dragon Campaign. I thought it was obliterated."

"These are ruins." Albert calls over his shoulder. "There's nothing here." 

"True. Aside from the Signet Sphere, there is no reason for Zieg to be here." I agree, slashing my sword against a Specter in Demon Dance. To my surprise, it doesn't crumble in a flash of red immediately. Instead, it simply recoils and turns back to me. Clenching my teeth, I slash again.

The doors have been knocked away, and the arches are half demolished. The entire city seems to be in ruins. Is the Signet Sphere even functioning? 

"Rose," Dart calls, knocking away a Hyper Skeleton. "Do you know anything about this place? Where is the Signet Sphere?" 

"I don't know." I reply. "Mayfil was not one of my favorite places. I was here once or twice, and I know the basic layout, but I don't remember where the Signet Sphere is exactly. Somewhere on the far side of the castle, though." 

"Guys, I think I've found something!" Meru yells from up ahead. She had chosen to fly instead of walk, to give herself a better advantage in fighting. The enemies couldn't reach her, but with her hammer she could easily knock them out from in the air. 

Striking an irritating Undead with my foot, the pathway is cleared momentarily of monsters, and we run toward where she is hovering, poking at a wall with her toe. 

"There's something here…" She says. "I can feel something, and when I kick it, the wall's hollow. I'm sure there's something behind this wall." 

It can't be the Signet Sphere. It's too close to the entrance._ I think._

The dancer takes her hammer and positions it over her head. With a yell, she brings it down and slams it against the wall. The wall shatters with an earthshaking sound, and the ceiling cracks. The wall crumbles inward, toward us. I growl, leaping back from the falling debris, but Meru is not so lucky. She would have been trapped under a ton of rubble had Kongol not snatched her out of harm's way, turning at the same time so that the wall falls upon his back. The Giganto barely flinches. 

"Kongol!" The dancer squeaks. "Oh boy, thanks! Are you okay?"

"Kongol am fine." He replied haltingly, as if thinking of his words. Vaguely I remember Albert and Haschel trying to teach him proper grammar. I frown. Kongol is an important part of our group, even if he does not speak much. It upsets me slightly that many other people would simply overlook him as a dimwitted giant. 

"Guys, look!" Miranda notches an arrow into her bow and aims it at something in the room.

I turn, lifting my sword instinctively, thinking that perhaps Zieg is standing there. But what I see is not what I expected at all. Instead of a slender man dressed in red, I see an immense dragon of gray. A growl reverberates around Mayfil and I am staring at the jaws of the Divine Dragon. 

"Damn!" Dart leaps back from the teeth that are clamping down. "I thought we killed it already!" 

"We did." I tell him, staring coldly at the faded Dragon. It struggles to move toward us and yet seems to be chained invisibly to something. In a way, it is almost pitiful. It rests on a raised platform about two meters high. "It is only a shade, a ghost, a spirit."

I examine the way it is struggling, fiercely but in pain. Its screams of rage are faint and halfhearted, almost mournful. "It doesn't want to die," I realize. "Like Syuveil, it is afraid of hell. It doesn't want to go to hell so it is a shade clinging to life, trying to stay here."

"We must put it out of its misery." Albert says quietly. "Kill it." 

I look at him for a moment. His head is lifted proudly, although his gaze wavers as he stares at the Dragon. He had just given an order, a death sentence. As King of Serdio, I wonder how many more of these deaths he had ordered, and how many more he must order, as he stays in the throne. I wonder what it feels like, to have someone else kill for you, instead of bringing the sword down yourself. 

But I turn my attention back to the Ghost of the Divine Dragon. It is not for me to worry about. Why did I only realize such things now? Am I growing in mind? Losing some of my sense? I shake my head. "If we kill the ghost, it will not go to hell. It will simply…disappear. Its very existence shall be wiped out and the Divine Dragon will not have to worry about going to a world without light." 

Miranda draws the bowstring tight. "Then let's do it. As a Sacred Sister, I cannot pass any chance to help someone…or something, be it human or Wingly or Dragon." 

But when she releases the arrow, the Dragon turns at the last moment, so that the arrow strikes its flank instead of its heart. 

"What is it doing?" Haschel asks. 

"Dragon hate Dragoon warriors." Kongol says, lifting his axe and weighing it in his giant hands. Using his strong arms, he pushes himself up onto the platform, and helps lift Meru as well. "Ghost does not want to die at hands of its murderers. But we must help it." 

"Right!" Meru chirps, looking down at the rest of us. "Dart? Will we?" 

"Huh?" The red-clad warrior is staring at the Dragon. "Yeah, let's go." 

I leap up onto the platform. Dragon, we do this for you, do not forget._ I tell it mentally, as I draw a deep gorge of blood on its shoulder. It roars, turning its head and snapping its jaws at me. One tooth rips a long gash in my arm, staining the cloth armor a blackish color. _

"If it really wants to die, then why is it fighting us?" Miranda asks, staying at a safe distance and firing arrow after arrow. 

I wait, thinking that someone, perhaps Albert, will answer her question. But when silence is the only reply I hear, I transform into Dragoon and speak. "It was defeated by us once before. We are the reason that it died in the first place. If we hadn't killed it, it wouldn't be facing the fear of hell right now. So it is holding a grudge, not wanting us to be the ones to kill it yet again. Its pride is too great for that." 

I watch Dart out of the corner of my eye. The red-clad warrior seems languid, distracted. What is on his mind that keeps him from fighting at his full potential? I call out to him, snapping for him to pay attention.

"Ah!" He cries out as the Dragon sinks a fang into his hand. He drips blood and drops his sword, backing off. I snarl at him. Because of his lack of attention, he has gotten himself hurt. 

"I don't understand…" Miranda growls, tossing Dart a healing item. "Why sentient beings are so mindful of their pride. It doesn't matter what species it is, everyone always worries about their pride."

"Maybe that's something that binds us all together and shows us that all species are alike. Pride. Damn!" I swear as the Divine Dragon rakes a claw along my side. 

There is a flash of white light and then Miranda is standing in her silver armor. She tightens her hands on her bow, tilting her upper body and head back up toward the starlit sky. She lifts the bow up to the moon, stretching the bowstring taut. "Moonlight!" She shrieks, releasing the arrow. It flies up into oblivion somewhere in the sky. The moon glows brighter with a silvery light, and it almost seems to rotate on its axis. The light spills downward onto the earth, surrounding me. 

Peaceful light washes over me, closing my wounds, rejuvenating me. I spin once, filling the air around me with black power. Gathering it in one fist, I switch my sword to my left hand. "Darkness Dragon!" 

The moon dims suddenly, a contrast to its brightness as it healed me, and a shadow crosses over us. The shadow sticks to the ground and coalesces, lifting into solidity in a vague Dragon shape, sleek and quick like a black arrow. 

The shade of my Vassal Dragon, Michael. 

It is all I have left of him since his death, one of my ultimate magical spells. The shade can do nothing but obey me, because it is only a shadow of his spirit, an echo of what he truly was. 

The ghost of one Dragon strikes another, with an explosion of magic that reverberates in my mind and gives me a headache. Its work done for this one summoning, the darkness disappears, leaving everything in a silvery illumination again. 

The ghost of the Divine Dragon screams at the pain, writhing. It tosses its head back, stretching its long neck to its full length and howls at the moon. I can the feel the magic in the air dissipating, just falling apart, caving inward. And then the Divine Dragon fades away, howling mournfully. I can still see the scars that we had inflicted on it, in this battle and the past one, until finally its entire remnant disappears and the only sound is the whispers of the wind. 

I turn around and look at the others, falling out of my Dragoon form. Miranda does the same, and so does Meru. Dart cradles his injured hand against himself, watching the effects of the Healing Fog take care of the wound. Albert picks up the sword and places it back in Dart's sheath for him. 

The master of the Red-Eyed Dragon nods his appreciation and turns away, walking slowly back out over the crumbled wall. 

* * *

"Where's Dart?" Albert looks around. "I wanted to ask him something, and we need him to light the fire."

"Do it the old-fashioned way." Miranda snaps, sprinkling the Charm Potions in a wide arc around our little circle so that the enemies would stay away while we slept. "I saw him head off that way. He looked like he needed to think."

Haschel starts to stand, as if to go speak to his grandson, but I wave him back down. "Let me."

I find Dart sitting on the platform of the ghost of the Divine Dragon battle. I stand beside him, not quite sure what to say to him. 

"Rose." He says without turning around.

I am mildly surprised. I hadn't made a sound. His psychic powers joining the Dragoons together must be getting stronger. "Hey," I say quietly, sitting down beside him. "How'd you know?"

"I recognize your aura."

"Ah. I guess I'm losing it then." There is an awkward silence. I flick a pebble off my thigh, choosing my words carefully. "The others are worried about you."

"I'm fine." He says. "Just a little disoriented."

I follow his gaze to the Moon That Never Sets, the body of the God of Destruction. "You miss Shana."

"Is it that obvious?"

"You forget, I was once in love as well." I tilt my head, swinging my legs against the platform. "What's on your mind, Dragoon?"

Dart smiles slightly. "You want to know my thoughts?"

"If you get them off your chest, you won't be distracted in battle like you were earlier today." I lie. And if you tell me, I may be able to help, so you won't get hurt.

__

"I knew Shana since we were both kids. We ran from monsters together. We played hide-and-go-seek together. I never even guessed that she could be evil. She was too sweet. She wouldn't even fight. How could she have been evil?"

"Dart." I sigh. "How can I say this to you? …Shana isn't evil. She's just…a vessel. The soul of the God of Destruction needed an unborn child's body to lie dormant in until the time was right. Shana was there, and the god used her as its vessel. She's not evil, Dart. Try to understand her."

"I still love her." He says quietly, ignoring my words.

Just as I still love Zieg.

__

"But I have to kill her. Is Shana's life worth the lives of billions of other people? Is our love worth all life? A fool in love would say so, but I am the Fire Dragoon of the Red-Eyed Dragon. I can't afford to be a fool. I have to kill her, to save the world." 

"Just as I must kill Zieg." I say quietly. "I too, am a fool in love, and I too, am a Dragoon."

Dart smiles without looking at me, picking up a stone and throwing it. "We're more alike than we originally thought, huh?" 

I nod. "In fact, we all are. We're caught up in some sort of twisted fate woven by the god Soa, just pawns on a big chessboard called Life. We have to give up our own lives and loves and happiness for the fate that the god planned for us." 

"Hmm." Dart seems to think about my words, holding something back. Before I can ask him what it is, he continues, "That was an impressive magic attack you did, the one that killed the ghost of the Divine Dragon. What was it?"

"One of my most powerful spells, the Darkness Dragon. I summoned the ghost of my Dragon, Michael, to help me. He's not really there, but I call on his power from the next world." I stretch out with my mind for a second. "You're almost up to the level, Dart. After a few more battles, you should be powerful enough to summon the ghost of your Dragon."

Dart nods, distracted. "You never told us how Michael died, Rose." 

I slant a look at him. "With the other Dragons in the Dragon Campaign." I reply fluidly. 

"It must have been terrible for you."

"Yes. What makes you say that?"

"Well," Dart pauses. "I wasn't one of the original Dragoons in the Dragon Campaign. I wasn't the first to bond with the Red-Eyed Dragon. But I can still…feel it. Not just its power that I call on, but its soul, its thoughts. I can hear it calling to me, sense its energy supporting me. And I'm not even its first master. So if you were, and you went through the bonding process, feeling its every emotion and death must have been horrifying."

"…Yes. It was." I answer honestly. "Dart, I have a question for you. Why is it that every time someone tries to help you, you seem to turn the tables and try to help them? Whenever I make myself serene enough for you to talk to, you always switch the topic back to me."

Dart flinches, as if not even knowing. "I don't know. I guess I just sincerely want to help people. I believe that I deal with things pretty well by myself, and I know I can talk to any of you. But I don't really have so many problems. You do, Rose. You have gone through hell and you never talk about it to anyone voluntarily. So I guess I just want to help." 

I frown, staring into the darkness, the only familiar thing to me. Dart's passion and his… flame was always confusing. What is it that keeps that fire going? Why does he keep helping everyone even though he gets nothing in return? Is it for the gratitude in itself, or something else? Does he expect a reward for kindness? …Does he really think that he, or anyone else, can help take away this pain?

"Rose, you're doing it again." Dart reminds me gently, giving me a light shove to snap me out of my trance. "See? You always keep your emotions inside. I've never seen you laugh or cry." __

"That's because I've kept it all inside since over eleven thousand years ago."

"So you should let it out once in a while."

I start to argue with him, but then calm myself. "If I find myself wanting to, then I will." I reply simply. "Come on, let's get back to the others. We'll need an early start tomorrow. We're still rather far from the Signet Sphere, if my memory serves me correctly." 

Dart accepts my hand up, glancing one final time at the Moon. "Yeah. Let's go."

We draw our swords, wary of the monsters that have started to gather, smelling mortal flesh and blood. When we see the rosy glow of the fire, we step over the lines of the watery circle that Miranda had drawn on the ground. The monsters seem to whine, reaching out, but staying away because they hate the smell of the Charm Potion. 

"Here." Haschel hands over a couple of food packs. "Eat up."

"If Rose is right, and the Signet Sphere is on the far side of Mayfil," Albert says, "Then we're a bit over halfway there. I flew over to see if I could find it, but I couldn't see it and only ended up wasting my spirit points." 

"…I used several Charm Potions to make the circle, but I'm not sure if it'll keep all of them at bay until they decide to go away, or how long it'll stay up. We should take turns keeping watch, like we did in the other Wingly cities." Miranda suggests. "I'll take first watch."

"Then Kongol will watch." The Giganto volunteers.

"Then me." Meru offers.

"And I'll take the last watch." I say. 

"Then it's settled." Dart yawns, and brushes the crumbs off his armor. "Night, everyone." 

* * *

I am restless, tossing and turning. 

MASTER! The voice shrieks in my head. It echoes over and over again, and I groan, trying to wake up. The aura of the call is so familiar and I know who it is. But I am afraid to face it. The darkness pours over me, wave after wave of black power. The kind of power that fuels a Dragoon in battle. I know.

HELP ME!

"Michael!" I scream, reaching out for him. I can't see him, but I can feel him. He's close, but I can't touch him, can't help him. "Michael!" 

WHY DID YOU DO IT? 

"Michael! NO!" I claw out at nothingness, groping in the darkness that envelops me. Ironic, that the darkness that binds us now is also the darkness that separates us. "Michael!" 

MASTER, HELP ME! 

* * *

"Rose?" Someone is calling me. 

I try to open my eyes, only to realize that I have shut them tightly. 

"Rose, please wake up, you're scaring me!" the same someone is patting my cheek gently. "Come on, girl, get up!" 

I snap my eyes open, amazed at how much force it takes, and sit up, covered in a sticky film of cold sweat. "What?" 

Meru is kneeling beside me, her elfin face drawn in worry. "What happened to you? You were tossing and turning and clawing out at nothing. Were you having a bad dream?" 

"…Yes." I reply flatly. I look around; I have not awakened anyone, thank the gods for small favors. I notice Meru gripping her left wrist with her right hand. Curious, I hold out my hand, and she shows me. Her left wrist is covered in shallow gorges, still bleeding. "Did I do that?"

"Yeah. Remind me next time not to try to stop you when you're clawing out in your sleep." Meru tosses me a quick grin. "Don't worry about it." 

"Sorry." I mutter, standing up.

"So, you wanna talk about that dream?"

I pause, turning to look at her. "No. Not really. I have a feeling you'll find out soon." 

She studies me for a moment and then shrugs, giving up. "All right then. I won't tell anyone, okay? I know you wouldn't like that."

"…Thank you." 

It seems as though she is going to go to sleep, but she suddenly speaks up again. "You know, you're like a sister to me, Rose." 

I freeze in my motions of stretching my legs. "What did you say?"

The dancer twirls once, a musing look on her face. "Well, I'm an only child. And all the Wingly females in my village weren't like me at all. They were so old-fashioned. When I came into the human world, the dancers there knew me, but that was basically it. This team, our little group here, is the closest I've ever gotten to friends. And close friends are like family, right? I've known you longer than Miranda, plus she's kinda nasty to me sometimes. You're always watching out for me, so I think of you kinda like an older sister." She smiles impishly. "Way_ older." She yawns. "Anyway, good night."_

She is asleep before I can even answer. Confused at this new feeling, I put my hand on the hilt of my sword and start my watch. __

I wake up everyone a half-hour after dawn, still slightly perturbed over the dream that I had, with Michael calling out for me, and my not being able to help him. 

"Meru, what happened to your hand?" Haschel asks, when he notices the faint scars on her wrist as she swings her hammer at a monster.

"Oh, these little marks?" Meru laughs breezily. "I just scratched myself during my watch last night. It's nothing."

"All right then."

Meru winks at me, grinning, as if telling me that it is our little secret.

"Rose?" Dart calls. His voice is slightly uncertain. "Rose, what's happening?" 

I run forward, thinking he is under some sort of psychic attack from Zieg. "What is it?"

"I…can't move. Something's moving in my mind." Dart does seem to be paralyzed, as if his feet are glued to the ground. His Dragoon Spirit flares even though he has not called on it.

I breathe a sigh of relief, sheathing my sword again, leaving the others to deal with the quantity of monsters, which has surprisingly decreased greatly. I guess that they have learned to leave us alone. "Dart, calm down. It's your ultimate magic attack. I told you last night you would learn it soon, did I not?"

"Yeah, but what is it? What's happening to me?" Dart's voice breaks in frustration. As a warrior, he does not like this feeling of immobilization. "What should I do?"

"Calm. Keep calm." I instruct him. "Albert, would you and the others just keep the monsters away? This may take a while, perhaps forty minutes." 

The king tilts his head at me, but nods. "Sure." 

I turn back to face Dart. "This will hurt." I warn him, and grab at his mind. 

I am vaguely aware of him crying out, but I ignore it, diving deeper into the thoughts and buried memories, where one piece of knowledge is currently in the process of unlocking. I feel around me at all of Dart's thoughts, his mind, his emotions, and his knowledge. But I leave them alone. Just as I would want my own privacy, I respect his. I focus on the magic section of his mind. 

I hold onto that knowledge, coaxing it out with my mind, luring it with memories of my own ultimate magic spells. I bring a sense of familiarity into it, so that bit by bit, it edges out into his consciousness. 

I smile with my mind. I remember when Zieg did the same thing for me, with one of my other ultimate attacks. I had been so scared, screaming my damn head off, and he reached into my mind and helped me. It seems only fitting that I help his son with the same. 

When I can acknowledge the consciousness absorbing the wisdom of the magic, I slide out of his mind with a gasp. "There." I tell him, tossing my hair over my shoulder. "That should do it. It will take some time for you to get used to the feeling of having another magic attack, especially one this powerful, but just deal with it." 

I pause. Even after eleven thousand years, the war is not finished. The Winglies are still separated from the Humans, and there is still a need for the Dragoons. _"The Dragon Campaign is not finished yet." I inform the rest of them, the six other Dragoons wielding the power of the ancient Dragons. _

Dart tests out his sword with a new ease. The magic attack also raises your vital statistics, making you stronger. "Then we shall end it by defeating my father." He declares. "Shall we go?" 

We go through the open walkways, with the sky in a perpetual twilight above us. I glance over my shoulder at Miranda. The Sacred Sister still looks a bit ill, confused and tormented by all the souls around her, but she is doing her best to keep strong, holding her head high. 

The next structure is darker not only in architecture but also in aura. There is something tortured inside. 

Stepping ahead of Dart, I enter the building first. It is dark inside, lit only by several small light panels lining the walls, giving off a pale bluish light too dim to make out much of anything. 

I pause, feeling what is inside. I pause, shifting my sword from hand to hand, uneasy. 

"Rose?!" Dart yells, when he cannot feel me walking beside him anymore in the darkness.

"Don't come near me." I warn them, my voice harsh. The things flooding into the room, too many to count. I keep my hand on my sword, ready to defend myself if need be, but I know that they cannot hurt me. 

The Black Monster. _A thousand voices hiss._

Finally, you are dead._ Another thousand voices, from my other side, growl at me, filled with a vague smugness. _

Like me. _Says one voice mournfully._

Like me._ Another voice, spitefully._

Like me._ Yet another voice, this one insane in death. _

Like us. _Millions of voices and thought-bombs launch at me, spilling everything onto my body and mind. So many of the souls that I have killed, swarming around me as if to drag me into the death world with them. I can feel them grasping at my mind, tugging at my arms and legs to drag me deeper into the darkness. _

I tug my arm free, picking up my Dragoon Spirit and holding it up in the air. The pendant glows a bright violet, and the Souls scream, fleeing away from the light. I replace the Spirit necklace back into the neck of my armor.

"Hate me if you want…but I cannot die now." I tell them. Please wait until everything is over.

__

The rest of them walk over. "What was that?" 

"The souls of the people I have killed. They wanted me to go with them. I said no." I reply. "Come on. We should be nearing the Signet Sphere now." 

Dart, Albert, and I take the lead, moving through the corridors. "Rose, you helped me to unlock my ultimate magic, right? And it would have been much harder if you hadn't helped, right?"

"Correct."

"You went through it alone?" 

"Correct again." 

"What was it like?" 

I shrug. "Like reaching into past lives and gathering knowledge. Like trying to pick up all the pebbles in the world. Like reaching inside yourself and finding nothing familiar at all. Frustration, fear, anger, pain, sorrow, all of that and more." I glance sideways at him. "Why do you want to know?" 

"I don't know. Maybe I'm trying to see what things were like for the original Dragoons. I have this weird feeling that I should know." Dart shakes his head. "Anyway, do you know how long it is before we actually reach the Signet Sphere? Do you know if my father is there yet?" 

I remain silent.

"Rose? Are you listening to me? Rose? Albert, you too? What's with you two?"

I do not answer because I am too busy staring at the man crouching in the room ahead of us. A man clan in green pants and a torn white tunic, with sandy blonde hair. A man with kind gray-blue eyes, questioning gentle eyes, and a bloody wound across his chest. Holding his back straight and his head up, with a lance in his hand, he carries the aura of the knight that I knew for what seems like an eternity ago.

Lavitz. 

Dart finally stops speaking to look at what the king and I are gaping at. For the first time in a long time, I am at a loss for words. I cannot even put my sword back in its sheath. The knight of Basil, Sandora. The man whose mother I had met and seen weeping when we brought news of his death. The Dragoon whom Lloyd had murdered with the Dragon Buster. The friend that Albert started his journey for. 

"No!" Dart exclaims. "You are! No way!"

Albert lowers his lance. "Yes, it is possible in this city!" 

Mayfil, city of the dead, where the tortured souls reside.

__

"Lavitz!" Dart yells.

"Who?" I can hear Meru ask behind us. 

That's right. We are the only ones that knew Lavitz as a person and not as a memory. Aside from Haschel, but we knew him longer. Haschel was only there in the last stage.

__

The knight smiles calmly and turns to the King of Serdio. He is slightly pale and faded, but then he is_ only the soul. "It's been a while, Your Majesty Albert."_

The king steps forward. "I knew it was you!"

Lavitz bows as if we are all at a formal court. "Your Majesty Albert, I have the honor of seeing your face again. And Dart…while we have been apart, you have become strong."

Dart nods. "Yeah. Since you left us, we have encountered many enemies."

"'Enemies…' That's why there are so many souls that know you."

Dart tilts his head in confusion. "…?"

Lavitz continues. "Souls that are attracted here remain with a variety of thoughts. That's why they are attracted by the gate of hell. Negative thoughts like attachments are the favorites of the devils from hell."

"And those devils are driving Mayfil, aren't they?" I question. The negative influences that are ruling the Wingly cities and are tearing apart the knowledge that I have gained over my years.

Lavitz turns to look at me, as if noticing that I am here for the first time. It is a long time before he says, "Rose…there are many souls who know you. Yes, there are countless…"

Dart interrupts. "Lavitz, tell me! Why have you appeared in front of us?!"

"Maybe…" Albert takes another step forward. "Are you helping us out?" 

As if this question pains him, Lavitz stumbles backwards, grasping his head with his hands and crying out in agony. His entire personality changes. "AAGH!" his yell echoes around the empty room. The lance that he holds in his hands moves, lashing out as if to try and take away his pain against the enemies in his head. 

I dash forward, grabbing Albert's shoulder and pulling him back just in time before the lance nearly impales him. "Watch out." I growl. "Something's wrong with him." 

The King pulls free of my grip. "Lavitz!"

"Don't come near me!" Lavitz warns, his voice muffled, and suddenly it turns harsh. "Get out of here!"

Without warning he turns and runs away, down the narrow hallway and across the bridge to another room, too dark for me to see or sense anything. 

There is silence, broken only by a gasp from Albert, and a light curse from Miranda. 

"What happened?" Haschel asks.

"It was Lavitz, the knight from the very beginning of our journey. He was my best friend." Albert explains quietly. "Lloyd killed him with the Dragon Buster. We were speaking to him now and everything seemed fine, but he suddenly ran off. I don't know why he would do that." 

"He was talking about the devils that were controlling Mayfil." I muse thoughtfully. "Perhaps… I wonder if one of those demons is playing with Lavitz's soul?"

Dart turns to look at me, his eyes blazing. "What?!"

I shrug, staring down the dark hallway. "I cannot think of anything other than that."

Albert slams the end of his lance against the floor. "Unforgivable!" he roars, and I am again reminded that he is a born king. 

"We must go after him, to help free his soul." Dart declares.

Albert is already racing down the hallway. 

"Who—who are you bastards?" Lavitz demands, holding the lance up to keep us away. His skin has taken on a darker tinge and in his eyes in a crimson wildness. 

I had ordered the other Dragoons to stay behind, much to their protest, but I am the highest-ranking Dragoon, meaning I am the oldest, and I managed to persuade them. It would have worked against us had they come with us to help Lavitz. If Lavitz saw unfamiliar people with us, he might panic and run off again, or worse, attack us. I would not like having to hurt him.

"Lavitz! It's me! Dart!"

"Dart."

"Don't you recognize me?" Albert asks gently. "Lavitz, do you remember me?"

"Majesty…Albert." Lavitz throws his head back and screams. He turns to run away again, only to stumble. I draw my sword, seeing the monster attached to his back. It reminds me of a small sea creature I had seen clinging to the jetty a couple of years ago. About the size of his back, it is a darkish purple color, with a single eye glaring out from the center of five stiff limbs, like a demonic starfish. 

"Look at his back." I tell the other two. "There is something attached. It seems that is affecting the soul." I frown as I prod at it with my mind. It retaliates, pushing me out. "It smells of devildom." 

"Lavitz! It's me! Dart! Don't you recognize my face?!" 

"AAAHHH!!!" The creature detaches itself from Lavitz's back, leaving the knight collapsed facedown on the stony ground. It warps and smokes until it takes on a new form.

"Hee hee hee." The monster, now transformed into an overgrown bat, smirks at us. "What a show! It was so moving a reunion, I'm totally choked with tears."

"W-who are you?!" Dart demands, drawing his sword. 

"Oh, excuse me." The creature clears its throat. "My name is Zackwell. I'm a resident of the darkness."

As am I, but I do not possess the souls of others._ I snarl with my mind. Leaving the creature and the Fire and Wind Dragoons to fight, I draw my sword out of its sheath silently, keeping to the side of the corridor. Staying along the shadows, I slip behind Zackwell without him noticing. Or perhaps he does notice and simply does not care. _

Instead of attacking him, as the smartest thing would be to do, I sheathe my sword again, kneeling down beside Lavitz's fallen form. 

"You have taken over Lavitz!" Dart accuses.

"Yes, I have." The monster says it without shame. "The man insisted he was so worried about you that he couldn't bear dying. I thought it was a little presuming, but I granted him momentary life." 

The devil with enough power to grant life to the dead souls. This must be the demon controlling and manipulating Mayfil. _I examine Lavitz's back. Zackwell's other form had left a red imprint on his back, almost as if it clung on tightly against struggle. Had Lavitz been conscious enough to fight against it once Zackwell nearly attacked King Albert? Is friendship that deep, that even in unconscious death and being possessed by a demon, one can still fight?_

I turn the knight over onto his back. The wound across his chest is still there, where in Hellena Prison, Lloyd had thrust the Dragon Buster through the Wind Dragoon's armor and into his flesh. It is no longer bleeding, just an ugly scar. Lavitz's face seems normal enough, as if he is not dead, but only sleeping. 

Dart and Albert are fighting against Zackwell now. I keep half my mind focused on the battle, should they need my help, or should the monster turn to attack me and possess Lavitz again.

I never got to thank you, knight of Serdio, for trying to help me even when you knew nothing of me. _I tell him with my mind. _In death, you have finally figured out the mystery of my past. I wonder what you thought when you first learned of it? _I dry the sheen of sweat that had accumulated on his face during those minutes of life. My motions are gentle, almost…sisterly, as Meru had put it. _I wonder if you have been watching our journey from the death world? Have you seen your mother? Have you learned the truth? 

__

I draw my sword out of my sheath, turning to face the battle. Dart and Albert have forced Zackwell to back up, nearly stepping on me now. 

Uttering a battle cry, I slice in a wide arc, cutting deep slashes across his legs. The demon screams, turning around to face me, its sickle-like weapon coming down. I block expertly, and kick up with my legs, knocking it back to the other Dragoons. Albert thrusts his lance into the creature.

With a howl of pain that makes the other Dragoons disobey my wishes and appear in the doorway, Zackwell falls backwards. I scramble out of the way before he can land on me, diving to the side and standing next to King Albert. 

"You bastards!" Zackwell screams. "How dare you!" He leaps to the side, shrinking and contracting as he goes, until he is back in his starfish-like shape. He forcefully lifts Lavitz's limp body off the floor and reattaches himself to the knight's back, reanimating Albert's dead friend. 

I shouldn't have left him like that, open for Zackwell's attack._ I reprimand myself, cursing in my head. _I know I could have blocked that attack had I been a shield in front of him.

__

Lavitz stands up, lifting his lance. The scarlet eyes scan us for a moment, and then faster than even I can perceive, he is moving, lance thrust toward Dart.

"Dart!" Albert yells. "Lavitz, NO!" 

"Lavitz!" Dart tosses his sword aside.

The blade hits the ground with a clatter that echoes again and again. I watch it bounce, hypnotized by its movement. The titanium blade, the golden bloodstained hilt carved in the shape of a monster face. A boshi_, an emblem meant to keep demons away. Looks like it doesn't work. The blade silences itself, and I tear my eyes away back to Dart. I draw my sword, to protect him, because he will not protect himself._

He stands proud and tall, head held high as if defying death. If he is afraid, he does not show it. "Lavitz!" 

His cry is loud and powerful and pleading, a yell torn from his soul. It is heroic and passionate and it stops Lavitz's headlong rush. 

The possessed knight stops, pausing, just awakening from a long slumber. "I…AARGHH!" 

He lifts his lance again, this time not against Dart or Albert, but against himself. He turns the weapon backwards and stabs himself with it. The spearhead digs into his skin, alongside the scar of the Dragon Buster. It goes straight through his chest and out the other side, impaling Zackwell.

The leech-creature hisses, losing its grip and falling to the ground. I watch quietly as it emits steam, slowly dissipating back to wherever the hell it is that devils come from.

"Lavitz?" Albert whispers, afraid to speak up louder, like the slightly noise will disturb this volatile balance. 

The knight has his hands on his knees, his head lowered. The forgotten spear falls to the ground and rolls toward us. Lavitz lifts his head at the sound of Albert's voice.

I sigh. The eyes are no longer carmine-insane, but the gray blue of the knight of honor again. The face is not twisted in a ferocious scowl, but in a tentative smile.

"Dart, Your Majesty, I am sorry." Lavitz steps forward and no one steps back. I sheathe my sword again. "Even though I was being manipulated…"

Dart shakes his head furiously, to keep Lavitz from saying anything more. 

"I could even… give thanks to Zackwell." The knight continues. His eyes scan across us, and then the other Dragoons, the new ones that joined after his death, the other members of our…team. I hesitate to even think the word. "So that I could meet you in death."

"You are not dead!" Dart yells. Everyone looks at him in surprise, and he smiles. "You will continue to live on in us!" 

Albert holds his lance against the ground with one hand, and with the other salutes Lavitz. 

The three men link hands, solidly, promising that their spirits and friendship will always connect them. 

I step back to the other Dragoons in the doorway, picking up Dart's sword and weighing it in my hands. This is a moment for them, the three closest friends. I stay off to the side, like I always have, like I always will. 

Lavitz takes Albert's lance and examines it, running a pale finger along several scratches and ridges that had appeared along the journey and the numerous battles that went along with it. "Your lance is ruined, Your Majesty," Lavitz comments quietly as if making a remark about the weather. "It will do you no good if you keep this." He looks up at me.

Understanding him, I stoop down and pick up Lavitz's lance, which had rolled to my feet. Walking over to them, I hand it to Lavitz.

He in turn gives it to Albert. "Your Majesty Albert, it would do me the greatest honor if you would accept my weapon as yours."

Albert stares at it for half a second and then takes it, cutting through the air a few times. The lance is nicely carved, with Serdian words etched into the grip. "It is a fine weapon, and an even finer gift. I will gladly accept your weapon, my friend, and I will keep it as a token of our friendship, to remind me of our times together."

Lavitz bows, and when he straightens, I can see the skin on his hand begin to drop away, like old paint peeling off the side of a ship, being replaced with golden light. "There is no time left. I will lead you to where the Signet Sphere is with my last strength." 

Dart turns, gesturing to the others to come. Cautiously, they come into the circle, and Lavitz lifts his arms. His mind draws on a foreign power, and the world is surrounded in a golden light. 

It envelops us entirely, and Lavitz smiles. "This will take you to where you are needed." 

I stare at him for a long while, studying the twin wounds on his chest. 

"It's not a beautiful sight, huh?" Lavitz says.

I look up at him. "I've seen worse." I admit. "May I?" He nods, and I place the palm of my hand on the wounds. Shutting my eyes, I call on the power around me and within me. 

"Ivy Prism." I mutter. Dark light gathers around me, filtering through an invisible point in the air before me, changing, warping into different colors. The rainbow array of lights instantly travels to Lavitz's wounds, but just as instantly disappears, releasing back into the air. 

I shake my head. "I apologize. I cannot rid them." 

Lavitz shrugs. "It's not a pretty sight, but it is a sight of friendship. I am proud of these scars." 

"…Yes." I gaze into his eyes, reading the emotion that was once nosiness and is now concern. "You are an honorable man, Lavitz. Thank you." 

"Well, this coming from the untouchable darkness maiden, I'll take as high praise." Lavitz winks, and then turns away, gathering the golden light back to its source. 

We are now standing in a different place, in a doorway leading into a large room. Lavitz is nowhere that I can see. The transportation spell must have taken the last of the power that he had. He has…gone back…to where life goes after death, I suppose. 

"Lavitz, thank you." Dart whispers to the empty air.

Kongol is gazing off the platform ahead of us. "Signet Sphere is safe."

I move forward, sitting at the edge of the hallway without any walls or railings. The Signet Sphere is indeed here, a concentration of condensed red-white light. A sphere of energy between three claws is the only thing that stands between life and death. "The Signet Sphere is the last barrier to protect the world." 

"If it is destroyed…"

I twist my mouth into a scowl. "There will be no other way but to deal with the god itself." It is better to tell them this now. It is high time they learned the entire truth and what comes along with it. If they want to back out, now is the time. The fight with Zieg will not be easy. 

__

Dart comes to sit beside me. "When Shana crosses to the Moon That Never Sets, the God of Destruction will be born…?" A look crosses his face and he leaps up, passionate again. "I won't let it happen! I'll finish it here!" 

"I think so too." 

The voice is calm, pleasant, but mocking. I jump up, holding my sword horizontally over my head, my other hand lifted palm out as if to push someone away. "Zieg."

"Dad?!"

"I'll finish the world here." 

"Reveal yourself!" I command. 

"I don't hide." There is a flash of red that dims even the Signet Sphere. When my eyes adjust, I can see Zieg hovering above the Signet Sphere. He holds the Moon Gem in his hands, a glowing green sphere of energy. I feel Albert tense, drawing in his breath. "Our settlement is a peaceful one. We don't need weapons here. A fight is not appropriate before the celebration of a birth." 

"I won't let you!" Dart yells. There is movement and then he is in the air, leaping incredibly far, closing the gap between his father and himself, sword thrust forward. 

Zieg forms an energy sphere in his hands, keeping the Moon Gem in the air with just his mind. The psychic power slams into Dart and the warrior falls back onto the pavement. "Don't come near me." He growls. 

"I-I won't let you." Dart repeats, but his voice has lost much of its force. 

I help him to his feet, supporting his weight until the spinning in his head goes away. "Zieg, do you not know who this boy is? Do you not know who I am? Or do you know and you simply don't care?" I rage my words against him, each syllable clipped and biting with fury. "Have you forgotten your son? Have you forgotten the days when you were a hero?" 

To my everlasting surprise, a look of horror crosses Zieg's face, shocking me into silence as well. "I…I am carrying out Soa's will. I am helping Fate with what should happen." 

"Bullshit!" I shriek, my voice hitting a new note. I walk to the very edge of the platform, gripping my sword in one hand and my heart in the other. "You know very well what you're doing, Zieg!" I stamp my foot, my youth returning to me, back when I went through a spoiled phase with my parents. That phase disappeared when I met Zieg, but now it all returns, the power and the anger. "I was your fiancée, Zieg. That is not a blood connection, but I took our love seriously! You did too! Even if that is not enough for you, you must realize that this is your son! You cannot deny that he is your own flesh and blood! If you can find that darkness in your heart to willingly fight him like such, then I pity you, Zieg. I love you, but I pity your coldness." 

There is only silence in the room. Without looking, I can tell that Dart is sitting up, stunned at the exchange of words that is happening, and the others are frozen in shock at my display of emotion. It is disturbing, but if I had cared so much about what other people thought, then I would never have become the Black Monster.

That strange look crosses Zieg's face again, and for a moment, I think that I have gotten through to him. Like Lavitz, his eyes were wild too, but not with possession, with a lust for power, with the insanity of the Fate that Soa planned. But now, everything has dropped and I can see my fiancé again, the man I once loved. The man I still love. 

"Zieg…" My voice is gentle, soft, devoid of all the anger that had been there not a minute ago. The same voice that he knew over eleven thousand years ago, the voice I used to call him when I was frightened at night, the voice that I cried out his name with when he was torn from me. Maybe I can still bring him back. 

To the others, they can see nothing. But I can. I can see and more importantly, feel him reaching out. For a moment our minds link again, and I can feel him again. He is calling out, desperately. He is calling out my name, and another flurry of words that I cannot understand. 

Too suddenly, he withdraws his mind, as if realizing what I am doing. "No! I am carrying out Soa's will! You will not tempt my mind again, witch." He stumbles back in the air, falling. I am there, grasping him, holding him up with my mind. 

In that instant that Zieg is disoriented and confused, Albert is moving. 

Transforming into the Wind Dragoon, he pushes himself off the platform and toward the brilliant green sphere hovering in the air. Of course! If we have the Moon Gem, then it will be harder, if not impossible for Zieg to destroy the Signet Sphere. It would require more power than he has. 

Albert's gloved hands reach out, and I hold my breath, daring to hope. Almost… 

But then Zieg is back, his mind unbendable again. He thrusts his arm forward at the same time, not toward the Moon Gem, but toward Albert. 

My mind brings me an automatic flashback of when Lavitz died. The knight had also reached for something precious to him, his lord, his king, and Lloyd had thrust the Dragon Buster forward, killing him. 

I almost whimper, seeing the Dragon Buster, thrust forward. I automatically think of what had happened after Lavitz's death, the sadness, and the grieving of his mother. Albert's mother had passed away when he was a child, this he told us, but he has Emille. How will the others tell the golden angel that her love has died? And what of political consequences, the union between Serdio and Tiberoa? 

But then my brain clears up, and I see that it is not the Dragon Buster at all—no, of course not, the Dragon Buster disappeared with Lloyd when Zieg killed the Wingly swordsman—it is only Zieg's arm, powerful as any sword, but not as powerful as the Dragon Buster, thank the gods. Zieg shoves Albert away from him, and grabs the Moon Gem with his other hand as Albert falls from the powerful push. 

Not powerful enough. The Dragoon does not land on the pavement as Dart did, but falls, grazing his armor on the claws that hold the Signet Sphere, and down into the abyss, the hell. Flustered, he will not get his wings to work, I know. Dragoons are not immune to fear. I of all people know this. 

Miranda and Haschel, the two closest to him, dive to the edge of the walkway, lying flat on their stomachs, their hands reaching down. The Rouge martial artist grabs hold of Albert's right hand, and the Sacred Sister takes grip upon the left. Albert swings in a wide arc, crashing into the side of the walkway. 

"Albert!" Dart yells. Another voice screams with him, and it takes me seconds to realize that it is mine. Meru is screeching too, dropping her hammer and leaping up and down in fear and frustration. How very much like mortal humans we are, with or without our powers.

Kongol moves quickly but carefully, behind Miranda and Haschel, both of who are straining to pull up Albert's weight. The Giganto bends down, wraps an arm around each of them, and straightens, pulling. He barely strains at the weight of three people. Albert appears on the edge of the walkway and Haschel yanks him the rest of the way up. 

While this has been happening, Zieg used it as a distraction. Even as I turn back, sword drawn, the Moon Gem is already hitting the Signet Sphere.

The two magic forces collide with each other, creating an explosion that destroys both and the hope of the world. 

"NO!" 

Zieg only smiles at our shouts. "The arrow has already been released! To the finale of the world!" With another charming smirk, he disappears. 

I lose my footing as the ground begins to tremble violently, as if Endiness itself was screaming in pain. Loose rocks and rubble shake down and Meru falls to her side. 

I stare up at the ceiling, looking past it. "The moon is falling." My voice is oddly kind, as if I had been reading from a book and nothing is real. Everything is torn apart; nothing can be trusted anymore.

The thousands of years of my hard work. The millions of people that had to die. The innocence of too many beings. Zieg, you have gone too far! 

__

"The-the world is ending." Albert says shakily from his place on the ground. "Does this mean that Humans cannot revoke the will of the creator?! Are we bound to follow the Fate that Soa plans for us?" 

No…_ I tuck my knees into my chest, wrapping my arms around them, my sword a forgotten dead weight against my hip. _Everything I had ever worked for. Everything I had ever believed in… all gone… Nothing is real anymore. We must finally succumb to what Soa has planned for us. My years are nothing now. 

And to think I could have stopped this. I could have stayed in Neet a while longer, been more accurate in my hunt and killed the right Moon Child. I could have simply let Zieg die as he was falling in his confusion. He would have impaled himself on the claws of the Signet Sphere. But I helped him, saved him. I could have killed him, stopped the end of the world. 

Everything is going now… including me. I wish I died with the others in the Dragon Campaign. The end is going to happen anyway, so why did I go through everything as the Black Monster? …Nothing matters anymore. We're already dead. 

"Not yet!" The voice is powerful and hypnotic as it breaks into my thoughts, making me look up at him. "Don't give up!"  __

Dart's eyes flare a brilliant blue. He runs forward, pulls me to my feet and shoves the sword into my hand. He is moving as quick as a madman, yanking the others to their feet, shouting like a lunatic. "It is only the Signet of the Moon that is broken!" 

And yet in those words, I am back. 

I am on my feet before I know it, my sword an extension of my body. "Yes." I find myself saying with a different voice filled with a strange emotion I have never heard before, or at least, not in my voice. I feel feverish and deadly. "We can still struggle! The Moon has not obtained Shana yet! Let us go pursue Zieg!"

It is like the tide rising and falling, swelling up powerfully, impossible to stop. In eleven thousand years I have never felt this, and it is impossible for me to comprehend. But I know that all seven of us were running down the walkway and through the doorway on the far side of the room. I feel the identical power that keeps us together. I know not the name of this power, nor how it works, but I know that it is more powerful than anything else is. 

The doorway bursts into light and we are outside, in a dark desert covered in twilight. Somewhere in the hidden depths of what was once Gloriano, I guess. But we are on a balcony, with no teleportation pod. 

"Dead end." I skid to a stop, testing the limits of this new power in me.

What is this power? Why does it fill me only now, when it could have fueled me eleven thousand years ago? Why is it so powerful and sweet, like the transformation, but even better? And why does this sweet power diminish when I am at an end? Why does despair replace it? 

__

My ears pick up on the sound of wings flapping in the air, and then on the mournful whale-like sound that Coolon makes as he lands next to us, hovering next to the balcony. Its eyes blink, silent words being exchanged.

"The wings of Savan!" Dart cries, hurdling over the lip of the balcony and onto Coolon's back. "Come on!" 

When everyone has clambered on, Dart calls out, "Coolon, we have to get to the Moon! Quickly!" 

The magical creature moves faster than before, gliding through the shadows of the clouds and the light of the sun shyly peeking from behind its shrouds. Gloriano's desert zooms by, the dunes becoming mere ridges as we speed by. 

A blinding pain stabs my mind, and I stumble, nearly falling off Coolon's wing. Instead, I land awkwardly on my backside, clutching my head in my hands. This new sensation, not pleasant at all like the last one, but pain. So many different thoughts: fury, pain, gratitude, freedom, rage, hate. 

Awakening. 

"Oh my gods…" I am not a very religious person, but even I…

"Rose!" Kongol puts his arm as a wall behind me so that I will not fall off Coolon, and Miranda leans over his back to place her hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right?" 

"Oh gods…" I shift my weight slightly. "Dart, Coolon, we're going to need to fend off attackers soon."

"What happened?" Dart calls, looking over his shoulder at me. "What's going on?" 

"The Virages of the ancient powers have awakened." 

Author's Note: Okay, sorry it took me so long to get this up. For those really_ perceptive readers, you'll notice some clues that you won't understand until I post up my next major story. STORY, not chapter. That's right. You guys aren't getting rid of me that easily. _


	10. Challenges and Friendship

"Virages?" Dart echoes darkly. "You don't mean the ones that we faced in the Volcano Villude and Kadessa, do you? You mean something else."

"I…these Virages are the originals, the Super kind. They were around when I first started to fight. They're the originals."

"Like you?"

"Yes. Maybe even older."

"Wait," Miranda makes a swift cutting movement with her hand. "What's an original Virage?" 

"They're the ancestors of the Virages that you've fought, and they're much, much more powerful. It's like a magical bloodline. One parent has 100% magic, and the second generation, his son or daughter, would have 50% magic. Now think how many generations can be spawned in 11,000 years." I pause, letting the information sink in. "When the Humans won the Dragon Campaign, they sought out the knowledge and aid of Charle Frahma. The original Virages were too dangerous to be let loose, so they cast a very powerful spell and placed all the Virages in the body of the God of Destruction. They were never meant to be released. They're enormous and they're deadly—"

"And they're headed straight for us." Albert announces in a calm voice. "Hang on tight."

The Virages, flocking by the hundreds, are pouring out of the Moon and we are right in their path.

"Coolon!" Dart yells. 

The creature veers sharply to the right. White sticky bodies are all around us, emanating dark energy. I grab my sword, slashing out blindly at whatever whiteness I can see. 

The flurry stops suddenly. Coolon had risen above the swarm.

"Hurry and get us to the Moon!" Dart commands. "We'll be safer there!" 

Something erupts next to where Miranda is sitting on the left wing and she yells. Coolon's wing had been pierced by the Virage's fire. It howls in pain, trying to balance.

"Coolon!" The Sacred Sister screams, and she stands up, raising her Dragoon bow. Arrow after arrow of white light strikes the Virage until it falls to the earth far below. 

"They _can_ be killed!" 

"Yes, but we don't have the time for it!" I shout back at her. "Our main priority is the Moon, and the body of the God of Destruction!" 

Coolon makes a noise like a whale and the wind blowing back my hair suddenly increases and he drops the altitude. 

I black out. 

I am the first one to awaken. I can not have been out for more than three seconds. "Guys, get up." I nudge at Dart with my foot. "Come on, wake up!" 

Coolon is a heap of color a few meters away. He has managed to get us to the Divine Tree with his last strength. "I'm sorry. I cannot…fly…anymore…" The eyes seem to smile and then slowly close, like the third set of eyelids on an alligator. 

"Everything is turning out just as Zieg wished." I growl. "The seal of the Moon was broken and Soa's plan has finally started. Those Virages are merely advance guards for the primary Virage Embryo. It seems that the birth of the God of Destruction will only be a matter of time." I run my hand along one of the thick trunks of the tree. "Does the Divine Tree, which gave birth to all species, want this as well?"

"The world is not over yet." Dart reminds us fiercely. "We can still fight to save it." 

"If after you've seen those Virages you can still say that, and stay here and fight, Dart, then I will fight too." I declare. "Let's go. The Moon That Never Sets is waiting for us." 

The pathways of the Divine Tree are its branches spreading out in different directions. Pools of silvery light are everywhere, and I explain about how the Divine Tree had created life with its fruit. The monsters watch from behind the limbs, occasionally coming out to fight. It does not seem as if the Divine Tree even registers us. It is like its very consciousness has been focused upon the Moon. 

When the dense branches give way to open sky, there is a tall thick pipe leading up to the Moon, a rounded sphere pregnant with energy. And from it flies forth the Virages.

"The Moon is spreading poison all over the world. In order to stop the poison, we need to reach the core of the Moon before it is too late."

"Unless Shana and the 'core', as Rose says, are wedded, the God of Destruction won't be born. Right?" Albert asks. "It is a dilemma for us because we want to take Shana back. If we don't meet Shana and if we can destroy only the core of the Moon, then the world will be saved." 

"But Zieg is here for sure." Miranda protests. "With Shana."

"That is the only chance to save her." Haschel adds.

"We will save both the world and Shana!" Meru swings her hammer in a wide arc to emphasize her words. 

"Fate is not in the hands of the creator." Dart says. His passion is enough to raise an entire army. "It is in our hands! We won't let Soa decide the Fate of the world! That goes for Shana's fate as well! We will decide our own fate!" He turns to observe the tall pipe. "This leads up to the Moon?

"Yes." I answer him. "It has been long. Very… Let's get going." 

Dart begins walking toward it, to a hole in the trunk with an air current blowing upward into the Moon. He waits, looking at the rest of us. Meru is first, her petite body disappearing up. Then the rest of them, even Kongol managing to fly without exerting any force. Dart holds out his hand for me. I shrink backward.

__

If I go in there, I give up my power. I will not have the time or the spirit points to grow wings. I am stepping into something far more ancient than I am. I am doing something that I do not know about.

Sheer faith. Trust in a friend. I must learn how. Trust. Passion. Faith. Friendship. I take Dart's hand and step inside. 

The air disconcerts me, so that I curl up and put my arms around my knees. It is like being grabbed by an enormous bird and carried up through the clouds. It is almost gentle, but I do not like the feeling of not being in control. 

When I feel the pull of gravity again, I loosen my body, opening up like an insect after the threat is gone, so that I land on my feet in time. There is a flash of white and black and then a pounding of power that makes me reel, heady with the energy it broadcasts. When it goes away, I realize where I am. Inside the Moon. 

Except for the fact that the Moon looks like a forest. 

Dirt pathways. Trees. Birds and hooting owls. Even a moss-covered pond. 

"Is this a forest?" Dart asks.

Albert looked around and jabbed the end of his lance at the ground, as if testing to see if it was real. "I thought we stepped into be on the Moon?"

"But this is indeed a real tree." Haschel proclaims, examining the markings on the trunk of a tree.

"No!" Miranda yells, slamming the side of her hand into the tree. Leaves shake down and one lands in her hair. "Were we sent down to the earth again?!" 

I tilt my head to one side like a dog straining its ears. "Shh. Listen to that."

~ _Thump-thump…Thump-thump ~_

"It's the heartbeat of the Virage Embryo, of the God of Destruction." The heartbeat grows louder now that they are silent. "An empty body that is the living corpse from which the soul was taken out by ancient Winglies on the day it was conceived from the Divine Tree. We must be in the Moon." My words are echoed by the thumping sounds.

"Then no matter what it looks like, we gotta keep going." Dart tells the rest of us. "Come on. Let's move out." 

We walk out of the forest, past the algae-covered pond. It seems almost like a reality here. An alternate dimension perhaps, a what-if. Even the monsters can hurt. I stare at the ground as the warm luscious field suddenly meets with a snow-covered forest. 

Miranda stops, hissing through her teeth slightly, her amber eyes narrowed. 

"Miranda, what's wrong?"

"I know this place."

"Does it look like the forest of your home?" Mille Seseau had been covered in forests like these.

"No, not only that. It is the forest of Mille Seseau where I grew up. I'll be back soon. Sorry, but wait for me here. There is something I have to check…alone." The Sacred Sister runs off, up a thin path, not skidding on the ice patch.

"That was strange. Is the Moon replicating things from our past now?" Albert asks. "I didn't know it had the…technology to do something like that." 

"So we just wait here until Miranda gets back?" Meru asks, balancing herself on her hammer until it tips over and she lands on her feet. "What do we do till then?"

"We're going to wait. Miranda needs some time alone to come to terms with her past." I tell them. "We should give her that time." I run my finger along the flat of my blade.

After a while, a slender figure appears at the top of the path and makes her way down. "Hi." She says in a normal flat tone, but there is something different about her voice. Something that wasn't there anymore. 

"Miranda, what happened?" Dart asks, noticing several cuts on her arms. "Were you attacked?"

"Are you really okay!?" Meru questions anxiously. "Your eyes are kind of watery." 

Miranda tries a smile. "I'm fine. Sorry. Please leave me alone now. I might tell you later. Let's go. That's the only thing we can do now." 

The main path leads to a shimmering portal. The kind that you hear about in fairy tales. But we have already been through so much in the time the team has been together that nothing can really surprise me anymore. I step through the portal first and I do not have to stick my head back out as I had thought I would have to, because the other six follow instantly.

The building is unmistakably Serdian. It has to be. It is made of wood, like a cabin. But the red carpet patterns and the wall hangings are like the ones I had seen in Bale. The attire of the people inside supports my beliefs. 

The _people_? 

"What…we are in Serdio!" Albert gasps. "But…and there are people. But aren't we…are they…?"

"Are they illusions?" It is Kongol that finishes for the king, who is uncharacteristically stuttering. 

I draw my sword from its sheath and make a long shallow cut on the inside of my left arm. 

"Rose!" Dart snaps, wincing. 

Blood wells up, and so does pain. "If it hurts, it is reality. This cannot be an illusion. It's real." _There is always a truth in illusion. Something within you sparks and starts the illusion so it is always created by something that you are thinking or something of your past. Illusion is just your own truth. _

"Wait." Haschel holds up one hand. "Look, that girl over there…" 

I follow his gaze to a pretty girl about eleven years old. She is dressed in gray, a gray dress with an overlying tunic. Her dark hair is pulled back by a red headband and even her skin looks slightly grayish. Her knuckles are callused, and her eyes are faraway and dazed. Her aura is wrong. 

"That girl…" Haschel runs down the stairs after her. 

"Hey wait! Where are you going?" Dart calls, and the entire team flocks after him. I plunge through another portal and on the other side is a village inside a cave. Minintos are running around. Good grief, I thought they were extinct?

Haschel passes through the village after the young girl. Though she is walking casually, we cannot seem to catch up with her. She comes to another portal, pausing for just a second to look at us before she steps through. 

"Sorry, but I have to settle this by myself. Can you guys wait?" Haschel jumps in after her.

"Who was that?" Dart asks. 

__

Say hello to your mother, Dart. I think silently. _That was Claire at a young age. Haschel must find a way for her to forgive him and a way to forgive himself for what happened._

"I'm going to talk to the Minintos." I sheathe my sword and walk away from them, back through to the village.

A pair of the Minintos stop their conversation to stare at me as I walk over to them. It is not the sort of staring as one does to a fierce tiger or someone they do not want to see. The two Minintos look at me as if they had been expecting me. They are small, so that they only come up to my elbow, dressed in yellow jumpsuits with bright pink hair. A Human would think they were mischievous elves, but the wisdom in their eyes changes that.

A hundred questions fill my mind, about what they are, where they used to be, how they got here, but instead I blurt out, "Are you real?"

The one of the left shrugs. "As real as we think we are."

The other one says, "For we are only real if we believe it so." 

"But then what is real?" I counter. "Is life? Are people?" 

The two of them exchange smiles and look at me again. "What is reality to you?" 

"If I can feel it, see it, hear it, fight it." I reply promptly. "If it hurts, it is not an illusion. It is a form of reality." 

"So…you are saying that if you can see it, or register it with any of your six senses, including psychic powers, then it is reality." The left Mininto grins.

"Something like that, yes." 

"But then what about people who are blind or deaf? What about mortal humans who have no sixth sense? Does that make their world less real than ours is?" The other one challenges me, and I fall silent. 

"I don't know." I answer him. "I really don't. What is reality?" 

"That, my friend, is something that not one person can answer, or even a million. It is something that you, yourself, must discover and adapt to." He smiles again and holds out his hand, stretching it up. I hold his hand; it feels smooth and cool, like new parchment. "My name is Miko. I believe I am real."

"My name is Andurs. I believe in my own existence." The other one says. I shake his hand too, calmly, and he looks at me with eyes that know more than the little body lets on. "Who are you?"

"My name is Rose."

"Do you believe that you are real?"

I consider the question. "I don't know. Maybe. But like you said, what is reality? I have yet to find out." I withdraw my hand. "Thank you. I should be getting back now."

"Good luck on your journeys." They called.

__

Eleven thousand years of beliefs, I thought, hopping over a small stream that cut through the cave floor. _Washed down the drain because of two little Minintos that challenged my thoughts about reality. Maybe someday I'll figure out what reality and existence truly means. But not now. I don't have the leisure to figure it out now. _I run my sword through a Trap Plant, injuring it but not killing it, as I returned to the others.

Haschel was just sitting down. "I've settled things. I…we should get going now."

Back at the inn, we stock up on supplies. Warily, Miranda tests a Healing Fog to make sure that it is actually real, and not something that the Moon made up to spite us. When it does, she fills the entire bag with healing supplies, and we leave through the door on the far side of the cabin. 

It is another portal; I can feel the magic warping and changing in the air until it forms a different location, a different time. Neatly paved walkways and streets, and stairs leading up to wrought-iron gates, beyond which is the Indels castle of Bale. 

"We're in a different time now." Albert says in a low voice. "The castle has been redecorated since this time, but I recognize that style as the way the castle looked when my uncle just took over. We're back twenty years." 

He walked up to one of the guards at the gate, who replies, "Now, His Majesty Doel is on an expedition to the Home of Gigantos. Please come another time." 

"So Uncle Doel has already assassinated my father…" Albert closed his eyes briefly, letting out a shaky breath before turning his attention to a little boy who is sparring imaginary enemies with a blunt wooden sword. The future King of Serdio tilts his head and his eyes widen as he kneels down beside the boy. I walk over to stand next to him.

"Hello." Albert says gently to the boy, who stops slashing and looks at him. "Are you practicing to become a knight?" 

The boy smiles a sweet, sweet smile with all the innocence that children do have. His golden hair gleams in the sun. "Yes, sir. I want to grow up to be a knight just like my father Servi."

Surprised, I crouch down to stare at the boy's eyes. Gray-blue, cadet blue. "Hello, Lavitz." 

He smiles quizzically and looks at me. "Do I know you, ma'am?" 

I shake my head. "You will." I murmur quietly. "You're going to grow up to be a fine knight, Lavitz."

"Your lance will make you a hero among the Court, but your undying loyalty will make you a friend to the king himself." Albert says, ruffling the boy's hair. "Keep training, friend. It'll pay off." 

"You do realize we may have altered the course of history?" I ask the king, giving him a hand up. 

"Yes. I understand, but Lavitz…" He stares at the boy, who is continuing his onslaught of the invisible monsters. "Well, it's been a long time since I've seen him. I keep having this feeling that perhaps I should have done more. It's not only with Lavitz, but with my father as well, and my uncle…" Albert shakes his head. "Besides, it's probably not real. It's just the Moon's illusions created from our past."

"Who were you talking to?" Dart asks when Albert and I return. "Who is that boy?"

"Lavitz."

The red-clad warrior turns to look at the boy. "Come on, we've no time to dwell in the past." 

The next portal is on the street, next to a pub sign. Casually we step through, even though it probably wouldn't matter if anyone saw us. The portal leads to a cave, damp and wet, making everyone's hair flatten instantly. We follow the darkness of the cave to a light in the distance, and when my eyes adjust, I realize I am standing in the sky. The surface I am standing on is a thin beam, which then spreads out like a spiderweb across the sky. We are above the clouds, and if anyone fell off the beams and through the gaps, it would certainly kill.

Meru automatically lengthens her wings of light to keep afloat. Haschel yelps and Miranda clutches one pale hand onto the rock tunnel we have just emerged out of. 

Dart crouches to maintain his balance better. "What is this? The ground is so far away!"

Meru hovers with her wings, darting back and forth like an anxious pixie. "I've never been this high up before! We're above the clouds!" 

I stretch out with my mind and step off the beams. My foot encounters resistance as I am seemingly stepping on thin air. "It's all right." I tell the others. "It's just another 'illusion' that the Moon made for us."

The Wingly female lightly treads on where I am standing with her wings still on her back and when she realizes it is safe, she retracts them and stands on her feet. "She's right. It's okay." 

The beams eventually widen into a pathway of bluish stone that leads up stairs and into the distance. "Why are we just wandering around like this?" Miranda demands. "Shouldn't we be finding the God of Destruction?"

"We don't know where it is." Dart tells her patiently. "We're lost and we're wandering around to find it. The Moon is throwing these obstacles at us like a test, to see how we will fare." 

A shadow passes over us, and if I did not recognize it, I would not give it a second thought. Many of the birdlike monsters have been flying over us, casting shadows. But this one was not merely physical; it cast a shadow over my thoughts as well.

A familiar shadow.

Thoughts of warmth and happiness, shielding me from the cold. Air rushing against my face, breezing my hair back, carrying my laughter. Good times, times when I still laughed because I still had my best friend.

But now his thoughts are furious, bloodlust, like they had been a thousand years ago. 

He comes into view now, his body making a few rounds above us.

"That is…Oh no! Michael!" I scream. "Michael!"

The Dragon circles once more and disappears, flying away.

"Rose?"

"No! I couldn't have been mistaken! I was with him for over ten thousand years!" 

"Is that your Dragon, Rose?" Dart asks.

"It was the Vassal Dragon. _My_ Dragon!" I scream, feeling him return just before he physically appears. The skin on his chest stretches taut before it splits open, and his ribs rustle. Black energy spills forward. The first two shots miss, creating pits in the ground, breaking the appearance of the clouds.

Dart grabs my hand and leaps into one of the pits. I don't care where it is going. As long as it takes me away from here, away from Michael and his insanity, then I am willing to go. My body is lax as I follow him through the air. I feel gravity pulling on me again, but only for a second until I hit the ground. 

I shake the stars out of my vision and look up at Dart. He helps me into a sitting position and looks around at the location. We are not in a cave, although the ground seems to be made of rock. Vegetation peeks out from various places, and I can hear the sounds of a strange animal in the background. 

"I understand that we have been separated from the others because the Dragon attacked us. But why? Was it to bring the two of us here, the place filled with Dragons?"

I look down at my hands. "I think…we will find out. Soon. Let's go. Either to destroy the Virage Embryo…or to fight against Zieg. I need everybody with me." I get up and start to walk.

"Rose…" Dart's voice is amazed.

"Don't be so shocked." I call to him over my shoulder as he hurries to catch up. My own voice is as calm as usual as if I had not just showed him that revelation. "I trust everybody too."

Since the way behind us is a dead end, we follow the path, hoping that it will lead back to the inn-cabin. The sounds of the strange animal become clearer, until I step off the path and look into a nest created by rocks and sticks. Inside are three little pink Dragons, straining their necks up like birds waiting for their mother to regurgitate food for them.

"Rose, what are these?" Dart asks, cautiously waving one finger above them and jumping back as one of them lifts up higher as if to bite him. "Jeez…"

"This is a baby Dragon. It's called a Pseudo Dragon." I inform him, looking around at the scene that is vaguely familiar to me. "It seems everything, including the future and past, exist here. My favorite Pseudo Dragon didn't make it to the present age. But I am encountering the past now." I jolt myself out of my trance, surprised at the dreamy reminiscent tone of my voice. "But we don't have time to be sentimental. Let's go."

The rock path continues to face a cliff. A circle made of stones surrounds the clearing. Darkness still reigns here. I can feel it.

"I knew it." I declare with no triumph in my voice. "I knew this place. It's where I met Michael for the first time." 

__

"Darkness Dragon, I'm sorry. We don't have time. Winglies are mighty. Mighty enough to annihilate us, and the entire species." I said to the writhing dark shape on the ground. "In order to liberate Humans, we have to sacrifice you, Dragon. Now is the time to decide, extinction or war." 

The Dragon became nothing but black smoke, expanding. I held out my hand and it compressed, forming a shape. The smoke was sucked into that shape, and a baby Dragon was shrieking. 

"We choose war." Zieg spoke fiercely from behind me, putting one hand on my shoulder. "The Dragoon Spirit left behind by the Darkness Dragon and this newborn Dragon will be the spearhead of the war." He was encouraging me, but at the same time he was also explaining to me the true amount of pressure I would have as I accepted the responsibility of a Dragoon.

I was only seventeen then.

I knelt down by the baby, waving my finger in front of it. Hypnotized it followed my finger and chirped softly. "This baby needs a name." I told Zieg, looking up at him. The baby Dragon took the opportunity to pounce onto my finger, and sharp teeth bit into my skin. I winced, then smiled, picking it up. "Black Burst Dragon, Michael. How about Michael?" 

"Rose's Vassal Dragon, the Darkness Dragon, the Black Burst Dragon, Michael. It's a good name." Zieg agreed. "So now can we go?" His patient tone disappeared into amused annoyance, teasing. I knew he had only come along because I asked him to. He was so sweet, to care about me. 

"Yes. The real war has not started yet." 

In the present, or the past, or the future, or wherever the hell I was now, with Dart beside me, there was black smoke again, condensing into Michael's grown form. It sprang up into attack formation, wings keeping it a few feet above the ground, just high enough to meet our eyes. There was menace in his eyes and mind.

"Michael!" I yell. "Don't you recognize me!? It's me Rose! Michael! Don't you remember me?" 

Dart leaps back before Michael's claws can take his head off. "Not fondly, obviously." He growls. "It seems not to be working."

It takes all my courage to draw my sword. "It's out of control, just like last time. He forgot the pride of the Dragon and turned himself into a mere raving beast."

__

"Michael, no! Don't!" 

"Rose, what is he doing?"

"Darius, stay back!" 

It was the last human contact I had willingly. After Michael, I just didn't care anymore. 

Dart suffers as Michael rams into him with all his body weight and draws a crack straight through his armor. "Damn! What a Dragon! It has wildness beyond that of Feyrbrand! It yields to neither sword nor magic!" He slashes with his sword, but the blade merely glances off of Michael's skin.

Lifelessly, I toss the reusable Psychedelic Bomb at him. He howls but it doesn't leave a scratch.

"The Darkness Dragon is the strongest Dragon of all." I report to him. "It has the best attack and defense, along with having the best agility." _Michael, I remember you were among the fiercest in the Dragon Campaign. Sometimes I shared your fierceness. But we shared memories too. Have you forgotten that? Are you back into your bloodlust again?_

"I don't need to hear about it!" Dart snaps. It is the first time he has raised his voice to me, aside from when we argued about the Moon Child. "Is there any way to defeat him?"

"Michael's shell is special armor of the Darkness Dragon. It repels any attack by the enemy." I know everything about this Dragon, from its statistics in fighting right down to what sort of humans it likes to what food he hates.

Michael turns to his ultimate weapon, the black laser. 

The dark energy is something that has long since attuned to me, so I know how to put up the shield. The shield blocks most of the power, and the excess I drain into myself, using it to fuel my own power. Both being darkness, I know how to deal with his power. 

But I cannot help Dart, who has to sit through the attack. I watch helplessly as he curls into a ball, the black energy surrounding him, draining him away. He screams from the pain, and I cry out. When the laser fades away, I reach into my pouch and run over to him, tilting his head back and pouring Healing Fog down his throat. I rub the front of his neck until he swallows and regains consciousness. 

Michael watches this through narrowed eyes. 

Dart comes around and stands up, picking up his sword and wavering a bit. I can feel him drawing on his own element and transforming into the Fire Dragoon. I back away from his beating wings. "What should we do? None of our attacks will hurt him." He says after trying Final Burst. 

Michael reels back from the attack in annoyance, and lunges forward, drawing a long gash along my collarbone and then again a deeper gash right below my ribs. I hiss in pain, screaming in hurt and anger and betrayal, and I slash with my sword, my emotions fueling it. The blade ricochets off his armor and he retreats back a few meters.

"Rose? You must know something about him. How did he die before?"

I cover my face with my hands. "There is only one blind spot." 

"What is it?" Dart demands. He dives out of the way of another black laser. The recoil gets him and myself, and I am lifted into the air, feeling weightless and deprived of all senses, like a leaf blowing in the wind. I pick myself up off the ground. "Tell me now!" 

__

God! What should I do? I can't… Tell him Michael's weakness or keep it a secret? If I tell him, I betray my best friend yet again. I can't…I can't…not again. "I can't…tell you…" I whisper.

"Rose! What are you doing? We have to do something or we'll be finished!" 

I stand there, my sword in my hand but completely useless, as Michael rakes his claws across my arm and chest. The pain is there and I register it, but it is like my body shut down and I cannot do anything about it. 

__

The wind in my hair, the most pleasant experience. The Midlake by Bale, our favorite hiding place. Flying upward and suddenly plunging downward, my favorite stunt. But I was never afraid, because I knew that you would never let me fall, Michael. I trusted you. Years of togetherness, centuries of friendship, millennia of trust. Eternity of love. I loved you, Michael, perhaps almost as much as I loved Zieg. But now you are back again, and I must kill you.

"Rose!" 

__

I'm sorry.

I lower my sword, my head tilted toward the ground in weariness. "After he shoots the black laser," I whisper to Dart in a resigned tone. "His defense falls for a second, showing his heart. That's his only weak spot." 

__

I've betrayed your trust in me. I've betrayed our love. 

I thrust my sword back in its sheath, and collapse to my knees, covering my face with my hands. I cannot bear to watch. I know that Dart is a powerful warrior, and with the vital piece of information I have given him, I know he will kill Michael. 

I shut my eyes, trembling in fearful anticipation. My fears are confirmed when I hear the agonizing shrieking of the Darkness Dragon dying. I scream along with it; our minds are still connected. I feel his pain and betrayal and tears. I shut my eyes tighter, trying to close off my mind. I move my hands to cover my ears.

When the shrieking dies away both psychically and physically, Dart walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder, kneeling down beside me. "There was no other choice, Rose. He would have killed us." 

I continue to rock back and forth, lulled into a false illusion of peace. I break it with my mind, knowing that peace never lasts long. "A Dragon's body is capable of enormous endurance." I take a deep breath, and open my eyes, taking my hands away from my ears. "But its heart is not. After many fights, it became savage and started to blindly attack people. In the end, he wouldn't listen to the orders of Dragoons either, not even me." My voice raises as I jump to my feet, pointing to the black smoke that was all that was left of Michael's body. "That's why I killed Michael! I killed him with these hands!" 

Dart grabs my shoulders, shaking me roughly so that my head lolls around on my neck. "Rose!" he snaps me out of my hysterics. "That's enough of looking back at he past. You have lived for 11,000 years because you didn't want to see the future be destroyed, right, Rose?"

He strokes my cheek gently, the way Zieg used to. I take a deep breath. "You are right. Thank you. You reminded me of what's important."

__

Damia, Shirley, Syuveil, Kanzas, Belzac, and even you, Zieg. Your sacrifices will be honored. I won't let them be in vain. 

I stare wistfully at the black smoke, burning like a fire. "I'm sorry, Dragon, but you've given up your honor by attacking us." 

Dart holds out the bottle that once held the Healing Fog that I had given him during the battle. I take the crystalline flask from his hands, stepping forward into the smoke. I crouch down and swipe the bottle, catching the smoke inside. I shove the stopper in, to see that I have successfully caught a part of him. I close my eyes and breathe in, absorbing his power into mine, bonding once more, like the first time, when he bit my finger and I had winced.

But no sooner did I try to try to merge minds with his shade did the smoke disappear. 

I step away, hurt and confused. But I understand. I have given away his secret, killed him twice and again. Why would he forgive me and let me absorb his power again? He doesn't want to merge minds anymore.

"I'm sorry, Michael." I whisper, lowering my eyes. 

"Wait, Rose." Dart takes my hand as I am walking away so that I turn around.

The smoke hadn't been disappearing. It had been condensing again. 

Lying in its place was a new sword.

"Oh…" I pick it up in my right hand. It is lighter than my previous sword, the Gladius. This one was light and compact, but I could feel the power emanating from it, see the gleaming polished silver and titanium. It would be a powerful weapon, uneasy to break or rust. It fit perfectly into my grip, as if I am already used to it. "It's perfect. The Dark Death." Its name springs up to my lips as if I had known it all along. "Michael, thank you." 

"Rose, come on. Let's look for Albert and the others. Then we have to head for the core of the Moon." Dart gestures to the path where we came from, seeing as how ahead is a dead end. "Besides, you're injured."

"So are you."

"All the more reason to get back. Come on." 

The portal this time had opened where there had been solid rock before, a cliff face nearby where we had found the Pseudo Dragons. It hurts to go through the portal. The magic sprinkles into my wounds like salt water, and it stings. 

We find the others on the opposite side, already waiting in the inn. Albert smiles warmly and comes over to us. "We knew we would find you here. Did you also go through a challenge?"

"Rose did. She faced and defeated her challenge." 

"Hey, Rose!" Meru appears from behind Albert. I have not forgotten her words in Mayfil, where she called me her sister. "Wow, you're totally scratched up. What happened?"

"I had to face Michael and my past." I tell her calmly. For some reason, the challenge had sent a sense of peace through me, as if I had come to terms with what I did to Michael. It is one heavy load off of my chest. 

"I too, had to face my past." Albert says. "I fought my Uncle Doel and found out the reason why he assassinated my father. Kongol had to fight his own challenge as well, but that is for him to say."

"Maybe later." Miranda says. "I've found a blacksmith on the west side of the cabin. I've been examining his work; it's pretty good. He makes cloth armor too, Rose. By the looks of it, you need new armor. Is that a new sword?"

"Yes. A gift from Michael. But I don't need new armor."

She makes a face at me. "Your armor is torn up and you have gashes all over your body. Not only do you need a new set of cloth armor, you need a good rest as well. We all do."

"I can repair my cloth. I don't want a new piece of armor."

Her eyes meet mine, defiant and challenging. "There are rips and tears all over. You _need_ a new armor." 

"I can sew it back up." I say through my teeth. We are back to arguing again. It is more of a tradition than actual anger, but I _really_ do not want new armor. I have had this for centuries now. 

"With what? Twine and long weeds?"

"If I need to." 

"Stop arguing, you two." Albert steps between us. "Miranda, you can't force Rose to do anything she doesn't want to. But Rose, Miranda makes a nice point. Your body _is_ racked with injuries and you're wavering. You're going to keel over any second now. You need a rest. Even when your body has recovered, the armor will be virtually useless during the next battle. Do remember that this isn't a normal battle. We're fighting for the sake of the world. Be practical, Rose." 

I consider his words and finally nod. "Very well. Since you asked so nicely. Where is this blacksmith?"

"I'll show you." Miranda offers roughly, moving at a rapid pace down an empty corridor. I must hurry to catch up, and that hurts. No doubt it was what she intended.

The blacksmith is a polite young man who is concerned with my injuries. I wave it off. "I need a new set of cloth armor. Preferably stronger than this one, but still dark and within the Amazon designs. Do you think you can pull that off?"

"Yes, ma'am, but uh…" he holds out a tape measure, unsure and embarrassed. "Would you please? You're a female, and…"

Appreciating his politeness, I take the tape measure from him. After thinking and measuring, I give him the numbers, and he promises to have the new armor done by this time tomorrow.

"It's kinda strange. Aren't they supposed to be illusions?" Miranda asks as we walk back. She has slowed her pace considerably, as she is not angry with me anymore. Now I can limp along slowly. Michael's claws had ripped a length of my thigh. 

"Not necessarily. Illusions come from something within you. I wanted to see Michael again, to come to terms with my past. I was granted that wish. Albert perhaps thought of this Serdian cabin and here it is. It all comes from something inside. You yourself faced something in the forest when we first arrived. Obviously someone wished for a blacksmith, perhaps also you. But it's not at your beck and call. It's something subconscious." 

"My challenge…" Miranda slowly shakes her head. "I wonder if we can all share our challenges?" 

Albert has finished paying for renting the room in the inn with the seven beds, and I am relieved to lie down, taking the weight off of my leg. Meru helpfully tosses over a Healing Fog and I drink it swiftly. 

"Kongol?" I call out suddenly to the Giganto. He had taken the mattress off the bed because the boxspring would not support his weight, and placed it on a clear spot on the floor. He barely has to lift his head to look me in the eye. "What was your challenge?"

Kongol pauses, frowning. "Kongol's challenge was big brother Indora." He clears his throat, remembering his grammar. "My brother Indora was a big hero in Giganto clan. K—I thought I would never match up to him. I had to fight him to prove my strength. I continue go—to go with Dart to prove my strength."

"My challenge," Albert says. "Was to find and defeat my Uncle Doel. But…I also had to find out why he killed my father." He gives a short laugh. "It turns out that Carlo perhaps was not the best king to rule Serdio. Doel killed him to save Serdio from ruin. I suppose…it would be the right thing to do, right, Rose?"

I do not understand why he is speaking to me until I think about it, and I cast him a gentle look. 

"My challenge," Haschel speaks up suddenly. It is like everyone is dropping all their mental barriers and revealing what is most important to them. "Was to find my daughter Claire. I realized that I was too tough on her in her training. She was only a child. She deserved to be out having fun with her friends instead of concentrating on fighting all the time. She ran away. I had to find her forgiveness." 

I stare at Miranda only to find her glaring at me in return. "Your turn." We both say at the same time. "No you. I don't want to go until I hear yours."

Sensing we are on the border of another argument Albert intervenes. "Ladies, if I may speak? These challenges are for yourself to know. You don't have to share them if you don't want to. However, I hope that throughout our journey, we had become more than teammates, and had become friends. If you are going to share your challenges, then it should be something that you want to do." 

I glance at Miranda and she shrugs. "Me first then." We both say, and I throw my hands up in exasperation. It is like our minds are alike. "You first." Again we are simultaneous, but this time it is gently, generously. 

Finally Dart tosses a coin. Heads. Miranda first. 

"I recognized the forest as the place where I had grown up. I went in, and walked to the place where I saw my mother last. In the clearing was a single blood red rose. That's why I hated roses, because my mother was always hidden in roses and she had hurt me. But…it turns out she did not want to hurt me. She left my family because she wanted a better life. Father was addicted to the drink and she hated how he used up her money. She left to build up a stronger life, and when she came back to get me, Father chased her away. That's why she named me Miranda. After the goddess of compassion and virtue and kindness."

"Miraroshi." I murmur. "Mortal name Miranda." 

"I kept the flower that I found after I made up with her." Miranda holds up a jar like the one I have the black smoke in, and red flower petals and lying on its bottom. 

Haschel makes a face and holds up a red circle of cloth. "My daughter's headband. She gave it to me as a token of her forgiveness." 

Wordlessly, Kongol holds up the new axe that I had not noticed. It is a polished bronze, well used and already broken in. Powerful, definitely belonging to a Giganto. No other being would be strong enough to use it. "Indora's axe." He rumbled. 

Albert reaches for something tucked into his belt and pulls it out. Two pieces, one light and one darkness. They glow with the element they represent. The light is like an angel's halo and the dark is like the diamond-starred night. "The chipped off pieces of the swords belonging to my Uncle Doel, Emperor of Sandora-Serdio. This one belonged to his sword of Darkness and this one to his sword of Lightness. The sword cracked on my Dragoon armor, and when I defeated him, he gave them to me, to show to me the true minds of people, how everyone has a darkness and light." 

Briefly my mind brings me back to when I first reconciled things with Miranda. _"Light was born out of darkness and there is darkness in every light." _

"We each received a momento as a token of the forgiveness or understanding that we were searching for in our challenges." I pause. "I had to fight my Dragon, Michael. We were partners and friends for over ten thousand years. But he had lost his self-control and honor and needed to be defeated. He dissipated into smoke after he died, and I kept some of it." I hold up the jar, as well as the sword. "He also gave me my new sword, the Dark Death." 

"It is hard to go against friends and family," Albert says quietly. "It is the most difficult strength to accomplish." 

"What about Meru and I?" Dart asks.

"…Just before Michael attacked us the first time," The dancer speaks up. "I felt something drawing me up those stairs. I would guess that it is my challenge. But Dart…"

"The entire blasted thing is Dart's challenge." I mutter, snuggling under the covers at the sudden cold. "He has to face his father and find out what happened to him. He is the leader of our group, therefore our mission is his challenge. Good night." 

"We should probably all get new armor and weapons." Miranda suggests. "What was the last boss fight that we all had together?"

"That creepy bug thing that changed into a faerie." Haschel says. "Imagi? Imago? Something like that. But we had our challenges with fights and we all fared well."

"That was more of an inner fight." Miranda snaps at him. "We're getting new armor and weapons. I saw a bow that I particularly liked at the blacksmith's. It would make sense to get everything as powerful as it can be now before we must fight the final battle." 

"She has a point." Dart concedes. "Let's go."

"Ah, madam." The blacksmith bows to me once, surprising me for a second with his politeness before I remember to nod my head once in acknowledgement. "I have your cloth armor. I think you'll be very pleased." He heads into a back room and after a while calls for me to go in after him. 

Hand on my sword, I walk in warily. I had been attacked once this way, knocked out cold, so one must understand why I am cautious. When he comes up behind me, the sword comes all the way out of its sheath and I would have killed him had he not held up his hands in defeat. His hands are empty. 

"Sorry." I mutter. "Reflex."

"I can tell that you are a warrior, miss. A fine warrior you must be too." He smiles. "I have your armor ready." He holds it out, neatly folded and I take it from him, sheathing my sword.

The cloth is made of some soft silky fabric, shimmering like a gentle waterfall when I touch it gently with my fingers. He had imitated the same outfit I wear now, with the long tapering sleeves and tight bodice. Shorts that are short enough to show skin even when I wear my right thigh boot. As I had requested, it is the deepest black that I have known, like a moonless night in Gloriano. But the sides, where my ribs are, he has sewn in silver web-like threads to form intricate Amazon designs. The designs crawl up my chest to intertwine at my neck. 

"Amazing." I breathe out. "Very nicely made. A fine blacksmith you are." 

"Also, miss—"

"Rose." I tell him. He has done such a fine job of making my armor that I feel it is the least I can do to tell him my name. 

"Miss Rose, while I was making it, I also realized that it would not quite match the accessories that you have, such as your boots or your…hair pieces." He says. "So I also took the liberty to make them in black." He holds out two pairs of items. The first is a pair of headpieces, black as night, plain except for the wavering silver line running the length of it. Attached to the bottom are two metal fastenings, easy and quick, so that I can slip them into my hair and make them stay there, like the ones I have now. The second pair is a set of boots, soft but strong leather, already broken in, made with the same color as the armor and the headpieces. A thick silver spidery line is embroidered at the top and from the ankle to the heel. They are different lengths, one thigh high and the other ankle high. Exactly like the ones I wear. 

I accept them gratefully, but my mind reverts to the caution that I had entered with. "I'm running low on money. I didn't ask you to make these, therefore, I cannot pay you for them." I leave the sufficient amount of money on the table. The pouch is much lighter now, almost weightless. I had been at the bottom of my Gold pouch lately, as the monsters here do not carry Gold for me to take after I defeat them. 

The young man smiles, as if he has been expecting that comment. "It was hardly any work at all, ma'am, I assure you, and the materials are not costly. They will be free of charge, since, as you said, you did not request them."

I narrow my eyes. "Why are you being so nice? Are you expecting me to do something for you? A favor?"

"No, ma'am. It was…when you came in and requested the armor, I saw that your eyes were sad, very sad." My hands fly to my face in reflex, but he continues. "I wondered what could make you so sad. You have a strong influence on people, Miss Rose. I wanted to make you happy. Since I did not know you, I didn't know what I could do to make you happy. But you are a warrior, this much I can tell just by looking at you. If I could not make you happy by a personal thing, I might as well try to please you through the armor that you need. Maybe then the sadness in your eyes would go away."

I take one of his hands in mine. "I don't know who you are. I don't know whether or not you are just an illusion. But what you have done for me, I appreciate. You have my gratitude for trying to help me. And do not concern yourself over me. My sadness shall be over soon." 

His small act of kindness has added a new light to my day. Throughout the eleven thousand years that I have been alone, few have ever tried to reach out to me in a sincere way, or to be nice to me for no reason. However, this young man, illusion of the Moon or not, is one of them and I appreciate that. "Thank you." 

I pick up the armor and leave the room. I can feel him smiling. 

Ignoring the others' questions, I duck into an empty room, bolt the door and quickly change. It feels so soft, the new cloth armor, the way bathing in a lake feels, free and gentle. It is the same style as my old armor, yet it emanates with a different power, energy of cleanliness, of purity. I slide on the boots and the headpieces. They fit perfectly, all soft and comfortable. The blacksmith did a fine job. Perhaps he is only an illusion, created by my unconsciousness, but he has made me feel gratitude toward a stranger. 

The old armor is useless now, but it has too many memories for me to just throw it away. I fold it and stuff it into a carrying bag. I take the bag with me and leave the room. As I leave, I suddenly feel a strange sense of new beginnings. Damn, and a new set of armor was all it took.

"Wow, this blacksmith must be even better than Miranda told us." Dart says. "The quality of that material and the strength of it is amazing."

"Not to mention it is very flattering on you, Rose." Albert comments. "It does justice for your figure."

Unused to nice compliments from people that I know, color rises to my face and I lower my eyes. 

"Rose is embarrassed! Is the world coming to an end?" Haschel smirks at me.

"Never mind that." I snap. "Are you all going to get armor or just marvel at mine?" 

"Slight difficulties." Dart says, holding up the Gold pouch. "We're having a bit of a financial problem."

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, I counted up the Gold we have and the amount that we need to get new armor and weapons and supplies." The red-clad warrior informs us. "We're short."

"Sell old weapons." Kongol suggests, holding up the previous axe he had used.

"I've counted up how much that would get us. It's still not enough." 

I eye a man in the room down the hall. He is dressed in silken clothes and is too drunk to stand properly. "That man over there calls himself Dran the Rich. He's drunk and his money pouch seems too heavy for him." I tell them and raise an eyebrow. "I could pull it off without him knowing anything."

"We're not stealing, Rose." Dart says, exasperated. 

"I doubt he'd like it if he had the money to help us save the world and declined our request."

__

"We're not stealing." The red-clad warrior repeats, slowly and deliberately, as if to drill it into my mind.

I shrug. "As you wish."

He smiles, losing the tension in his shoulders. "It's nice that some things never change."

I look down at myself. I have given up wearing rings and necklaces, aside from my choker, since meeting Zieg. My family had been very prosperous, but I had sold the jewelry during the Dragon Campaign to get money for the supplies. I hadn't worn any jewelry since then. I found it an unnecessary bother. 

Desperately I wished that I had kept something, a bracelet, a ring, _anything_ at all of value so that I could help the others. My desperate longing surprises me. I would do almost anything for these people, I realized.

Albert was right. Somewhere along the line I had grown into a friend with these people, and they into mine. But when exactly had that been? When Lavitz sacrificed himself? When we survived the Phantom Ship together? When they had been so happy to see us again after Dart and I returned from falling off the ship and ending up in Lidiera? When I laughed in the guestroom of the palace in Fletz? When Meru revealed that she was a Wingly? When Dart and I reconciled? When we freed the Dragoons?

"Here." Miranda says roughly, tearing something off her arms. "These should be worth something."

She is holding two glittering white gold bracelets in the palm of her right hand. "Her Majesty Queen Theresa gave these to me as a present when I became the First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau."

"Miranda!" Meru gasps. "They're precious to you! You can't possibly give them up!" 

The Sacred Sister makes a face. "True, Queen Theresa gave them to me, so I cherish them. However, I doubt that Queen Theresa will be pleased if I do not give up her gifts to help save the world. Besides, they can be replaced. The world cannot. I'll go pawn them now. I'm a good dealer; I should get a fine price for these." She nods once and hurries down the hallway. 

"This…feeling…" I venture onto new and dangerous ground warily. "Is it called friendship? When one would do anything and everything to help one's team?"

"To help one's _friends_." Albert corrects me. "Are you telling us that you've never felt friendship before?"

I consider his question very carefully. "Well…I suppose…not to this extent. As a child, I was a spoiled brat. My family's wealth attracted many people to be 'friends' with me, but I don't think it was for the right reasons. In fact most of the guys proposed because they wanted to have a share of the money I would inherit. When I joined the Dragoons, I was infatuated with Zieg. I think that he was the only one I actually knew very well, the only one that was my friend and beyond. Of course, Shirley and Damia and the others, they were also friends, I guess. But I never made much of a move to become very good friends. But what I feel for you people," A tiny part of my mind was warning me to back away, screaming at me that this was going beyond rational and safety. I ignore it. "Is something greater than that. I'm not quite sure what it is." 

Haschel throws back his head and laughs, a loud rumbling laugh that turns the heads of the people for a moment. He claps me on the back so hard that I stumble forward a step and glare at him. "Ha! You act like you know everything and you're so cold, Rose, but you're just like the rest of us. You want friendship too."

Automatically I reply, "I do not." I pause. "Are we friends?"

They are all laughing now, with Meru giggling hysterically, Albert turning his face as he tries to stifle a chuckle, Haschel nearly on the floor rolling with laughter, Dart clamping his lips together and trying to keep silent, failing. Even Kongol is smiling widely.

Albert puts his arm around me affectionately, but innocently, as if I am a male friend of his. He has given up trying not to laugh. The silky brown hair flies back from his shoulders as he throws his head back. "You're so insecure, Rose. Gods, if only we knew this before…" He sobers slightly. "Of course we're friends. I don't know about the others, but we were friends the moment you cut the ropes around my wrists in Hellena Prison and taught me about Dragons. Remember when I gave you my cloak in the snow fields?"

Yes. I didn't know why you did that at the time, but I was grateful, though confused. I think I wanted to be your friend at that moment in the dark castle when you asked me what I was afraid of. You seemed so wise, but evading all my barriers, and I could only defend myself by attacking.

"For me it was when you snarled at me in the Arena. You said, 'don't tootsie me. My name is Rose.'" Haschel says through wheezing for air. His darkened face has turned red from lack of oxygen.

__

Really now? I wanted to slap you. But I was intrigued when you knocked out Lavitz so that he wouldn't run off and get himself killed irrationally.

"Rose is my friend since I asked her to kill me." Kongol says. "In Majesty Doel's castle. I was defeated by Dart, Albert, Rose. I said I cannot live in shame and for them to kill me. Rose almost did before Dart stop her." 

That made me your friend? I would have really killed you…Gods, I could have changed the course of history… But you looked so heroic and self-sacrificing as you held up the pillar to keep us from being killed. Your sheer honesty, as well as the loyalty and devotion to your friends is admirable, just like Belzac's undying love for Shirley.

"I knew Rose and I would be friends in the bar in Fletz. She was drinking and I made a face at her. I think I started talking too much, and she started walking around the bar to get away from me." Meru laughs and hugs me. "You looked so funny, like you were being tortured." 

You have a real motor-mouth at times, Meru, and you're often too impulsive, but you were kind when you told us your secret. And in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity, you were looking at the Virage when it fell down the abyss. You said, 'it's gonna have one hell of a headache when it wakes up.' You seemed so innocent then, pure and delicate like Damia was. Inexperienced and sweet, willing to help.

Dart is the last to step forward. He touches one of the demon headpieces I have in my hair and shakes his head. "You were my friend the instant you saved me from Feyrbrand. Not because you saved my life. But because you risked your own."

I wouldn't have been killed… If I knew there was that chance, would I still have taken it?

"When you swooped out of the sky to save me from Kongol, you were like an angel descending. That was the moment where our minds linked. I knew that I would _know_ you, truly, as a friend and as a trusted confidant." He smiles. "I don't know why you wear the horns of a demon, Rose." 

Dart, there is too much to say about you. I don't know when exactly I became your friend. But I admire your passion, your chivalrous honesty and selflessness, your way that you can motivate us, the way that you're so determined you would go against fate. Your father would be proud of you… Your mother, as well.

"What's going on?" Miranda asks, coming up with her money pouch full. "There was some weird woman who just fell in love with the bracelets. I managed to persuade into a good price. What happened? Why are you all breathless? Was there a fight?"

"In a way. We're trying to teach Rose about friendship." Haschel snickers. "We were telling her when we first thought her a friend."

Miranda's mouth threatens to smile. "I think we first became friends when I slapped you."

Funny. That seemed to be breaking new grounds for me too. I can't say I was completely happy about it, in fact, I was furious, but it changed my view of you. I developed a sort of respect for you that would eventually lead to our current friendship. Or maybe it was when Haschel and Albert kept saying that we were alike.

"Friends." I taste the word on my lips. "You are…my friends." I can feel something well up inside me, trying to bubble out. Laughter. But I pinch my mouth into a straight line. They can't see me smile. 

"You're cold and boring at times, Rose," Meru says, giggling. "But we all know that you love us, right?"

I cast her a look. "Of course." I say sarcastically, although I mean. "Why else would I come this far?" 

I stand to the side as they purchase their new armor and weapons. We refill our items stock and by the time we are done, we barely have enough Gold left to get a decent meal. 

The new armor looks nice for them and looks basically the same. It has a different shade of red, or a new style of a cape, but it is basically the same, though more powerful. 

We set off through the portal again, the one that led to the spot where Michael had first attacked us. Meru would need to face her challenge next. And though she would face it by herself, she would not face it alone. We would be there. Myself…and my friends.


	11. Do not doubt

****

Do not doubt

The stone walkways eventually lead up to a palace in the distance. It is carved out of a rare form of glittering amethyst, smooth in some places and jagged in others, but elegantly carved. It is beautiful to the eyes the way a harp is soothing for the ears. It is perhaps even more magnificent than the Crystal Palace in Deningrad. 

Miranda says this and Meru smiles. "That is the palace of the Winglies. Whatever is calling me is in there. Come on." She starts across a walkway, delicate-looking, like the flimsy golden contraction that had led Albert to the real princess Emille in the painting, to wake her up and save the kingdom.

But no sooner does her sandal put weight on the walkway does it collapse.

Breaks into little pieces the way a thin piece of ice shatters when you flick it with your finger. Meru shrieks and her name is called by her friends. Regaining control, her wings slide out and she flutters like a mad bird in the air before she can calm down enough to hover peacefully. 

"I've gotta face this by myself, guys." She says, winking at us. "I'll be back in a minute." 

Wavering slightly on her wings, she flies toward the grand entrance of the Wingly palace.

"So now what? We just wait?" 

"Yes. Meru has to face her challenge. I'm sure that when it's over, the walkway will be restored." Dart says.

I narrow my eyes, expanding my pupils. Over the thousands of years I have learned how to strain my eyesight. "There's a platform there…" I say slowly. "Right in front of the entrance. We can get over there without using up too much Spirit Points." 

Dart considers this and nods, giving me permission. I allow the sweet tension to flow through me, and my wings carry me across the distance to the platform. I can hear five soft landings beside me and a heavier thud as the Giganto lands. 

One of the enormous doors is open, but when I try to get across it is like running into a wall. I swear quietly, kicking at it. "Powerful magic created this shield. The Moon obviously does not want us to interfere with Meru's challenge." I report.

"At least we can watch this way."

Meru is speaking with someone who looks oddly familiar. A tall shapely woman dressed in a modest beige toga, with six arms and six wings. 

__

"That's the Archangel." Meru explains. "She's like someone who the Winglies worship. A goddess…I think."

"Don't you worship her, Meru?" Albert asks.

Meru shrugs. "I dunno."

Meru had never seemed like the religious type, and I have a feeling that this would be a test of faith. 

"Meru," The Archangel says in a voice like silver bells muffled by flower petals. "You are a Wingly female, and yet you have disobeyed the Wingly traditions. You've left behind your own world to join the world of Humans! The very humans who threw our race out of power!" 

"They only overthrew the ancient Winglies because they were out of control!" the petite dancer retorts. "The ancient Winglies killed off half the living species!"

"We only did that because they didn't deserve to live. If anything could be annihilated so easily, what good did life do to it?" The Archangel tilts her head as if she knows Meru cannot answer. 

"It doesn't mean that they don't deserve to live! Everything is put here for a reason. Archangel, it was the Winglies that were wrong. Because they were wrong, Humans threw them out of power. But because of that, Winglies hate the Humans!"

"With ample reason. And yet you broke the tradition by leaving the Winglies and joining forces with the humans!"

"Archangel, the Humans are not as bad as you make them out to be." Meru declares.

"Defend your theory with a fight, Meru. Let's see what is the more powerful." The Archangel lunges forward with a sword that is held in one of her six hands. 

The dancer leaps high in the air, avoiding the thrust easily. "The rest of the Winglies worship you, Archangel, and I respect you. But I respect my friends as well, and a friend will defend the honor of those that are close to her." She picks up her intricate silver hammer, and moves in toward the Archangel.

She makes fighting look like a well-choreographed dance. Her movements are fluid, connected together in imperceptible tones, the hammer simply an extension of herself. The Archangel stands there, taking the strikes.

"Some humans are terrible, Archangel, just like some Winglies are terrible. But many are kind and honest and sweet, also like many Winglies. We are not so different. Just because we have wings and magic we have to be separated from them? That's wrong, Archangel!" Meru screams. "We need to learn to coexist with each other, to restore the peace that was here thousands of years before." 

"Meru, you have violated a sacred taboo of the Wingly tradition. But it can still be repented, as long as you give up your Human friends and come back with me. I will speak to the ancestor for you. You will be allowed back to the village, back to your Wingly heritage. All you need to do is give up your human friends. After all, they are only human, only inferior." 

Meru's eyes blaze with an unholy light. When she speaks it is a quiet commanding tone. "Humans are just like Winglies, Archangel. I would have thought that as a god you would understand this. But it seems that you do not. The appearances are different, and so are the magic levels. But humans feel pain, just like Winglies do. Humans feel pride, just like Winglies do. And Humans feel love and hate, just like Winglies do. I have learned all this by exploring the human world, by seeing their traditions, but enjoying their happiness, and by sharing their sorrow. By holding ourselves above them, we are nothing. Humans are not inferior. And by staying with the humans, I am not relinquishing my Wingly heritage. I am only making myself more, not less."

"It is a simple proposition, Meru. Will you come back with me and give up the humans that have clouded your judgment?"

"No!" 

The Archangel sighs. "So be it." One of her hands is holding a trumpet, which she lifts to her lips. She blows a simple tune, a summoning, a reveille. 

The open ceiling is covered in clouds. Through the clouds pierces an arrow of golden light, and it widens, allowing figures to fly through. Winglies, each holding a blade. 

At the Archangel's command, they all swoop down on their shaft-of-light wings toward Meru.

__

No, Meru, watch out!

She falls to her knees as the first blade enters her flesh. At least a hundred of those terrible sort of Winglies, cutting her as they fly by. Meru suffers through it, until the Winglies all return to wherever they come from. Surprising everyone, Meru stands up.

"I am going to continue, Archangel. I owe my friends that much. I go through this for my friends, to learn new sensations and experience new joys. Along the line there are bound to be some sorrows, such as Coolon dying, but we get through it together. Everyone." Meru's breathing is in ragged gasps. "Everyone is my friend, and without each other, we are vulnerable. That's why we stay together, forming a team of warriors strong enough to defy fate. All together, our virtues form something more powerful than you can control. I stand by my decision. I'm staying with my friends."

The Archangel lowers the trumpet, the sword, the book, the rose, and the harp. She bows her head. "Well said, Meru. You've proven that you truly do care for your friends and you would do anything for them. Come here, child." 

The dancer limps toward the Archangel, who puts her long slender arms around her. When Meru steps out of the embrace, the bleeding on her body is gone. Not a single gash mars the perfect flesh. 

The Archangel smiles. "I wish you luck in your journey, Meru. May your friendship never end." She raises her head to the heavens and a brilliant golden light washes her away. 

__

We each came on this journey for different reasons. But for Meru, it was entirely friendship. The entire thing was based upon friendship for her. That was why it was her challenge. For me, it was to forgive the things of the past and make a better future. For Meru, it was for her friendship. 

The invisible shield that I had been leaning against suddenly gives way, and I topple into the room. Finding my footing again, I run over to Meru. "Are you safe?"

She throws her arms around my waist and it is because of compassion and patience, not an obligation of duty, that I do not shake her off. "Yeah, Sissy, I'm fine."

"Sissy?" I echo. 

"Sorry. It's what I heard one of the Winglies say to her sister. It's an affectionate term. I'm not calling you a coward."

I have to hold back a smile as I help her to her feet. "You sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, Rose, thanks. I'm fine. The Archangel was here. I just passed my challenge." She looks up and smiles. The smile slowly fades. "But I don't feel so good. Excuse me…"

She ducks past Kongol, running over to the edge and vomiting. Haschel stands besides her, patting her back fondly.

When she comes back, she is smiling again. "I knew I shouldn't have had that steak. So come on! What are we waiting for? We all have our supplies, we've all faced our fears, we have a portal, and we're all as ready as we'll ever be! Let's go, go, go!" 

__

Your energy had seemed an annoyance at times, however, it is something to hold on to, to say that there will always be something optimistic out there.

The golden light that the Archangel had disappeared into is our next portal. I step into it without hesitation, and this time the weightlessness brings a new thrill to me. When we arrive, we are in a room that I have never seen before. Everything is squarely cut, without curves anywhere, and a shimmering silver tint to everything. A crackling snapping sound is in my ears, and I flinch. 

Dart tilts his head. "Listen, do you hear that?"

"All I hear is that infernal sound. What the hell is that?" I snarl.

"No, not that. Listen…" The warrior heads in one particular direction. "I can hear Shana calling me…" 

I strain my ears, but I cannot hear the Moon Child's voice. Instead, I simply follow Dart. I trust him.

Dart's intuition had been right, because the polygons melted into a regular room, though lava-colored, and the terrible sound disappeared. I would have sighed in relief, had there not been a hideous gigantic monster standing by the doorway to what I _knew_ for sure would be the final battle. 

"It's a Super Virage! It must be serving as the gatekeeper for the God of Destruction!" I pull out my Dark Death.

"I don't care what is waiting for us." Dart says stubbornly. "We came here to save the world. Let's do it then." 

The Virage turned around suddenly, emerging all the way, and to my horror, I realized that the hideous gigantic monster I had seen was only its tail. The entire thing was five times as large.

"Transform, all of you!" Dart commands. "Attack it from all positions! One of us will confuse it and draw its attention while the others attack!" 

No doubt it was the most powerful creature we have ever fought before. More powerful than anything I had felt. But it had to succumb. Dart's battle plan was flawless, with the seven of us and only one of it. It was inevitable that it would fall. It had to. The seven of us darting around like mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were too small and evasive for one to get rid of, but they could do a lot of harm. 

Meru gives a little battle cry, bashing her hammer in the side of its head. As it swivels its face to her, I glide forward on powerful wings, the Dark Death piercing a soft spot on the back of its neck. When it turns toward me, Kongol flies toward it. 

Meru was right. Each of our attributes overlapped into a dense shield, powerful, unbreakable. 

Dart yells something, and Haschel nods, lifting his face up to the stone ceiling. "Atomic Mind!" 

The ceiling breaks apart when the bolt of lightning strikes it from the outside. The white-blue lightning is drawn into Haschel's hands, and he deflects it straight into the Super Virage's heart. He holds the lightning like it is a solid substantial thing, gathering and forming it into a blade. 

The Super Virage stumbles, and its tail catches me across the face, snapping my head back. I growl, gingerly feeling the welt on my cheek. _Why do they always aim for the face?_ It wasn't that I was some sort of look-obsessed lady that spent all her waking hours sitting in front of mirror. But I had learned that women who were able to flirt with the guards would have easier access to high-security area, and it was hard to flirt with bruises all over one's face. 

Miranda moves underneath the opening in the roof. The sunlight reflects off her silver armor at such an angle that it effectively blinds the Super Virage. Dart and I both fly forward, exchanging a silent agreement. The sword cut at the same time, slicing open the two major arteries in the neck. It is defeated.

I dive out of the way just in time to avoid the blood that spills out. Dart is not so lucky. The thick brown liquid hurtles toward him and he curls his wings around him, shielding his front.

"Yuck." Dart beats his wings back and forth, shaking the goop in all directions. Albert protests when one flying glob nearly struck his new cape, as he had transformed back to Human. I hold out an old rag, and Dart uses it to wipe the residue off. 

Pausing suddenly in the motions, he looks around. "The voice stopped. Shana…where are you?" he turns to the rest of us. "Shana was calling me before we fought the Virage. But now her voice is gone…" he stares at the body on the ground with eyes wide with horror. "Was in the Super Virage that we defeated, in reality, Shana?"

"No." I answer immediately. "It couldn't have been." 

Dart nods, but his fears are not mollified. They could never be until he held her in his arms again.

"That battle must have taken an hour." Miranda says. "And we're all tired. The last battle is behind that portal, but we cannot afford to fight in this condition. We need to rest up, eat, and charge up the Spirit Points again."

"We made a lot of noise in the battle," I agree. "And the Virage falling indeed made a loud noise. We've lost the element of surprise. Zieg knows we're coming, and no doubt he is ready for us. It would make more sense to rest now, instead to fight him wearily. We cannot afford to make any mistakes here." 

"Agreed." Dart says. "Half of us will charge up as many Spirit Points as we can now. Then take a rest. The other half will guard against monsters and build up the SP that way. Then switch. Make sure you're at your full battle potential. We have to be ready for anything that—my father can throw at us."

I can hear the pause in his voice before he said 'my father'. No doubt it pains him that he will have to fight his father, just as it pains me. Furthermore, he may have to fight Shana as well, his soulmate, his childhood friend, his love. I had learned how to dull most of the emotions over the years so that it didn't hurt so much, but Dart didn't know how.

I walk over to him and set my hand on his shoulder lightly. He turns toward me and I say, "I can teach you how to quiet the feelings if you want."

He shakes his head. "No thanks. If I stop feeling the guilt while I am fighting the two that are a part of me, then I will become nothing more than what Michael was, a cold heartless killing machine." 

I squeeze his shoulder affectionately. "Well spoken." 

The next day, I wake up and stretch, warming up my body to its full potential. If I am to fight Zieg, I must be ready for anything. He was the head of the Dragoons, the murderer of Melbu Frahma, and he was still my love. No doubt he would use both physical and emotional options to hurt me, as long as it would put me out of the battle. I steel myself. _The old Zieg would thank you for this. Don't have any regrets. _

Melbu Frahma…

The Wingly Emperor was suddenly in my mind, with his sea-green eyes glowing with hatred. He had scared the hell out of me every time I saw him, and I admired Zieg for managing to defeat him. But that wouldn't stop me from killing him if I needed to.

When the entire team is ready, we move through the portal. For some reason, I feel an inexplicable reason to laugh. This is the final battle, with the seven Dragoons here to defend the fate of the world. But we were sneaking through the portal like a group of thieves. This was not the honor I had been searching for. I shake my head slightly.

The room on the other side is not lava-colored as the previous room was. It is made of stone and dark like a cave, the only light coming from a bright pale blue sphere on the far side of the room. There was a figure in the light, casting a shadow. A girl, curled up with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her head was buried in her knees, and she looked so tiny and insignificant, but there was no mistaking Shana. 

"Shana!" Dart yells. She doesn't move. 

__

That blue sphere…is that the Virage Embryo? Is it already too late? 

Dart runs forward, his sword hanging naked in his hand. "Shana!" He yells again. I can hear his thoughts, feel his hope that it is not too late, that he can still save her. 

A shape drops from the sky, a tall slender man in supple red armor, with golden hair. He reaches out and snatches the Dragoon Spirit off of Dart's neck and I am reminded of Mappi so long ago. The figure leaps back from Dart's reflexive slash. 

The Dragoon Spirit glows in Zieg's hand, star-like. He holds it up triumphantly.

"No!" I scream. "The Red-Eyed Dragon still recognizes you as its Master?!" 

"That would be correct. I was its master eleven thousand years ago."

"You don't deserve to use spirits!" Suddenly the Dark Death is in my hand, and I am trembling in bloodlust. _He dares to use the spirits after abusing them? Fighting against the Dragoons, he still has the Red-Eyed Dragon to recognize him as master?_

"The world is going to be annihilated anyway." Zieg says pleasantly, as if this is a normal conversation. This is all normal to him, isn't it? It seemed natural, meant to happen. Good grief, he wasn't evil, he was insane. "It matters not what spirits I choose to help me. Do not stand in my way." 

"We won't let you do this!" Dart says passionately. "Humans and everything other being on Endiness has lives, lives that cannot just be thrown away when the god grows tired of them. We have a choice in what we want to happen!" 

"There is no such choice. If you will not get out of my way, then I shall simply have to battle you."

Dart stands defiant, chin lifted proudly.

Zieg's eyes flash. "So be it." 

He holds up the pendant like a prize, and it glows brighter than before, its red light spilling out of the Dragoon Spirit and down his arm, across his chest, down his legs, over his face. I remember Zieg had made transforming seem like an art, beautiful and exhilarating. I remember watching him as he transformed, as he did now, making it seem as if he was the only one in the world. 

The light begins to fade, not enough to lose its unearthly beauty, but just enough so that I can see every piece of armor slide into place, see the wings burst from his shoulder blades, see the sword grow stronger and charged with energy. When the transformation is finished, the red fire disappears and Zieg the Dragoon is standing there. 

"Father!" Dart yells. His hand is automatically clutching the Dragoon Spirit that is not there. He cannot transform now.

"Zieg…" To everyone's surprise, I step back to a safe distance. _Maybe I can get him in a different way…_

I stretch out my mind, probing at his lightly. Probably I can influence him…

My mind, like a jagged black crystal blade, pokes at his thoughts, trying to wiggle in. His mind, like a burning ember, suddenly roars into life, bursting up and grabbing mine. Instead of pushing my mind away as I thought he would, the flames reach out and grab me, dragging me into his mind.

My thoughts scream instinctively as they are buried into his mind. This was what I had been attempting—to find a complete mind-link with someone. But the dominant person does not feel flustered and confused, as I do now. I can almost see him sneering. His physical body is still moving, blocking and attacking the five Dragoons that are attacking it. Meanwhile, my body is lying limply on the ground, I am sure. 

__

You wanted to talk to me, didn't you, Rose? He asks. _Well we are talking now. What is it that you wanted me to listen to?_

I force control into my mind, bringing steadiness to myself. _I know this isn't you, Zieg. What happened to you?_

And what happened to the pathetic little child that always followed me, obeying my every order?

I recoil, and then push forward stronger than before. _Maybe I was just a pathetic child, and perhaps you never loved me. But I loved you and that is all that was important to me. I know that something changed you! This isn't the way you used to be. Remember this?_

I send thoughts into his mind, taking control, becoming the dominant mind. In a world where nothing exists until you want it to, it is easy to bring old memories to life.

__

"Zieg? When we finish this war, what's going to happen?"

He turned his face from whatever he was studying in the distance to look at me. "Well…Humans are going to be in charge and hopefully everything will be like the way it used to be. The Winglies and Humans will coexist. No more killing." 

"What about us? Me and you."

He lowered his head slightly to drop a kiss on top of my head. "Well…I was thinking about this. After the war, things will calm down significantly. I mean, after the injured are taken care of and all the properties are redistributed. But then things will be quiet. We will have peace. And…"

I heard the strange tone in his voice. He was trying to be subtle about something. "Zieg, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying…I would like very much to share that peace with you. A personal sort of peace…" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What I'm saying is…Rose, will you marry me?"

I would never forget that moment, the feeling that had flown up inside me, like a balloon being released, lifting upward. I felt like the stars were being laid at my feet, and I threw my arms around his neck. "My love, you know I will." 

There was no engagement ring, but our marriage would be a union of mind. It didn't matter if I had a little ring or not. As long as I had his love.

I can feel Zieg's feel disconcerted, backing away. _Do you remember this?_ I ask him.

__

Stay away from me!

He was defensive and frightened, the way a wounded animal was. He didn't like this mind link. Good. Maybe in his confusion, I could slip some more thoughts into his mind, to remind him who he was. He had to remember! I didn't want to kill him.

__

We walked into the room where the other five Dragoons were resting. Shirley was meditating, but she looked up when we came in. Her head tipped slightly to the left, noticing the effervescent feeling within me. "Did something happen?" She asked. "It is rare to see such happiness during a war. I am glad."

I smiled at her. "Guys, I'm getting married!" 

"Oh!" Damia fluttered over to me on her wings, hugging me. "Congratulations!" 

Syuveil broke into laughter, clapping Zieg on the back. "Took you long enough! For a moment, I thought you'd let this lovely flower get away!" 

"Congratulations." Belzac nodded at us. 

"Can I see the ring?" Damia pleaded. "Please, please?"

I exchanged glances with Zieg. "We don't have one. Marriage is a union of mind. It doesn't need to be symbolized by a ring."

Kanzas snorted. "In other words, he was too cheap to buy one."

Zieg sent him a warning glance, with no malice behind it. We were like that. I didn't know everyone that well, because Zieg was what my world was based upon. But I knew that we would never turn on each other. After the war…who knew what possibilities would be opened?

Shirley was frowning, the only being unhappy here. "Are you sure this is wise?" She asked quietly. "The love that you two feel for each other is genuine and deep. However, if something should happen to either of you…I am afraid the other shall not be able to deal with it."

I was about to point out that she herself was in love, with Belzac, but Zieg interrupted. "Shirley, Rose and I are in love, yes. And we both understand the risks. But even if one of us dies, our bonds of affection are forever." 

I end the flashback. _Don't you remember that, Zieg? Don't you remember the love we felt?_

He pulls his mind away, dislodging, casting me aside. I struggle to stay connected to him, grasping at him, trying to keep him with me. _Stay away from me, witch. Either get out of my way or be destroyed. You're lying to me! Get away!_

Doubt that the world does exist. Doubt that Dart is your son. Doubt that this isn't your true self. But do not doubt that I love you! I'm not leaving you like this!

Fine. He attacks then, in mind form, launching a sphere of energy, not unlike those that Winglies have, but in mental form. I form a shield, refusing to let the energy hurt me and it dissipates. 

__

If a mind battle is what you want, then I'll be happy to oblige. I create a serpent with my thoughts. In astral fighting, anything can happen. I make the serpent coil around his mental form, squeezing tightly. He growls, his mental form shapeshifting into a hawk, flying out of my grasp, and diving down again. I slither away and shift into a panther, swiping one deadly claw at his form.

To my surprise, he changes back into Human and shuts his eyes. What is he—uh oh. His mind is pure energy now, like the energy spheres he used before. I am too slow to shield this time, and I recoil, my mind snapping out of the unknown place and back into my body.

"Rose?" Dart's hands are gentle as he helps me to a sitting position. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." I snarl, in a bad mood with good reason. _Zieg, if you won't listen to reason, then I am sorry._ "Demon's Dance!" 

"Final Burst!" Zieg pulls back, high up to the ceiling. Tossing aside his sword, he calls on fire. It gathers in front of him and he forces it forward. He makes magic looks like it is the most natural thing in the world. For him, Dragoon magic is a part of his soul, so quick and fluid. His attacks had always been more powerful, like the fireball hurtling toward Dart right now.

"Dart!"

But the red-clad warrior is unharmed. His new armor was created to be unsusceptible to fire attacks. He is still standing there, staring at Shana, suspended in the glowing sphere.

While Zieg is coming back down to the ground, recharging, Kongol, the only one in Dragoon mode, attacks.

The Dragoons must have worn down Zieg while we were astral fighting because that is all it took to collapse him.

And yet he did not fall.

His body is limp and defeated, unconscious. And yet he is lifted into the air by the back of his neck, like a puppet being controlled by an unknown hand. The red Dragoon armor is still in place, and the wings are spread out as if he was in pain. He speaks with his head to the ground. "The time has come…" 

His voice is spooky, haunting. It sends chills down my spine. "I have no more need of this flesh."

__

What are you talking about?

"What?" Dart asks, confused. "Father!"

Zieg starts to shake, as if smothering a laugh. His head, which had been hanging limply, suddenly snaps up and glares at us.

With eyes that are glowing sea-green with hatred.

I gasp. "_You!" _


	12. Confrontation

"Melbu Frahma

Author's Note: I actually listed 108. You can count if you want, if you have nothing better to do, like me. (If Rose lived for over 11,000 years, how would you figure out the formula for the number of Moon Children she sacrificed? I kept it as one hundred and eight. To help the prophecy) Furthermore, all the names listed (aside from the mythological ones) are creations of the author's imagination (and her brother's). Any relation to persons you know, living or dead, is purely coincidental. By the way, one of those names is mine. Can you guess which one? (And I am terrible at fight scenes, so please don't blame me.)

****

ABSOLUTE

__

"Melbu Frahma!"

I all but spat the name. "It was you! You were the one controlling Zieg!"

A part of me is screaming in rage, the other part sighing in relief. _I was right. It wasn't Zieg who was attacking us, Zieg who nearly killed me, Zieg who called me a pathetic child. He was being manipulated. _

The spirit inhabiting Zieg's body suddenly leaves. Zieg's body falls like a limp rag doll to the ground, lifeless? No. Couldn't be. The spirit becomes a ghost, a phantom, a specter. It is a simple floating mass of sea-green color, with Frahma's face sketched in the center. The pale, pale face with the sharp features like a Dark Elf. The veins that appears in his forehead. What ran through those veins, I will never know. But it cannot be blood.

It speaks, in the same voice that had once raged, 'how _dare_ you?' Cold and precise. "I am the famous Melbu Frahma, Supreme Leader of the Winglies. I have been waiting for this moment for over ten thousand years."

Dark Death is now a familiar weight in my hand, surging with power. "Why?!" I shriek. "You must have been defeated by Zieg!" 

Melbu Frahma turns his face toward me, as if noticing me for the first time. He has disdain on his face. "It is true that the sword of that man," he nods at Zieg, lying on the ground. "Penetrated me. But what vanished is only my flesh. I cast a petrifying spell on the man, and at the same time, I transmigrated my soul to the spirit. The sublime soul is immortal."

__

It wasn't Zieg that hated me. It was you. But for every second that you took over and possessed my fiancé's mind, I will break one of your bones.

"How long have you been manipulating my dad?" Dart demands.

Melbu Frahma laughs. "At that moment I reentered the light. The first light after 11,000 years. When the Black Monster came to Neet, that foolish soul tried to release the power of the Dragoon without knowing that I was waiting for that moment.

"So…it was then!"

__

Oh. Oh…so it had been I that sealed his fate. I had always wondered where Zieg was when the Black Monster attacked Neet. He had tried to fight but he was overcome when Frahma burst out of the Dragoon Spirit. Oh…I'm sorry, my darling. In the end, it still ended up being my fault.

"I was released from the Spirit and revived. In order to obtain an eternal body that is proper from an immortal soul! And now I am becoming a god!"

He turns the front part of his floating self toward the glowing sphere. Something is happening.

Shana is being drawn toward something on the right of the sphere, as if she is an animal drifting lifelessly in the tides of the ocean. There is a dense mass of vines inside there, with a hole in the center. From the hole stretches out five tentacles, latching onto Shana and tugging her in.

"Shana!" Dart yells. 

Frahma moves quicker than any of us, moving into the sphere. It shimmers like a wall of water, though tight and ungiving, but he forces his way in. The veins on his forehead stand out even more as he strains his mind. Shana is pulled away from the tentacles, shoved outside the sphere without a second thought. Dart runs forward, not thinking of his own safety. Frahma shifts himself into the grasp of the tentacles and into the "hole".

"By the gods' hell…" I murmur. "Is he merging with the Virage Embryo?" 

"The prophecy said that Shana would be the god of destruction." Miranda says, her voice shaky.

"But it seems that Melbu Frahma has decided he would be a better candidate for that position." Albert sums up. "He's merging with the Virage Embryo now. Soon he will be the god." 

"But Shana is safe." Dart says, coming back to us with the petite girl in his arms. She looks tired even in unconsciousness, as if her life force has been drained away. She groans slightly, like a ghost trying to find her way home. "Now all that is left is Melbu Frahma."

"Dart, you can't transform." Haschel reminds him.

"I don't care." Dart replies, his infamous passion flaring. "I don't care if I have to fight him with a pointed stick. I'm not sitting out of this. At the very least, I can be the medic if nothing else." 

I walk forward, kneeling down besides Zieg and lifting his head into my lap. _My darling, I'll get revenge for you. Please wait for me. Don't go anywhere. We'll have a chance to be together again. For all eternity. Even if one of us dies, our bonds of affection are forever, right? I love you. _

"The Virage Embryo…" I stroke Zieg's face one last time and place his head back down gently on the ground as I stand up. "You have its power now."

"You are right." Melbu Frahma is a grotesque form, the lower part of his torso melding into the Virage Embryo, which was now a red-yellow. He leaned forward and the junction where flesh met physical power stretched like chewed gum. The five tentacles writhe like impatient eels. The room is lit up now. "I obtained the flesh of the god of destruction. I am the god that will begin a new world!"

"A god? Don't make me laugh."

The voice was cool and collected, hypnotizing and oddly familiar. Who?

Someone in full battle armor drops in. Shaft-of-light wings grow from his back and he wields the Dragon Buster in his hand. Like a slender silver flame, he gives off an aura of mystery and command. 

"Lloyd!" Dart yells. "You are alive!" 

The platinum-haired swordsman smirks at Dart and then turns to the monster. Anger twists his features. "I cannot die with the wrong god still around. You forgot our supernatural spirit and pursued your own interests! It is unforgivable! Destroy yourself and preserve my vision!" He hefts the Dragon Buster. "There is no room for you in my utopia!" 

__

Perhaps it was Lloyd who was the most innocent of us all. Believing in ideals that many had already given up on. He wanted a new and better world, but not by eliminating everyone. Lloyd…you would have made a good teammate. Maybe even a good friend.

His Wingly wings bring him up, and the tentacle reaches for him. He dodges easily. "Too slow!" he taunts, almost playfully.

The next one is also avoided. "Missed!" 

His smirk is consuming. I feel triumphant at his defiance. "Over here!" 

But the third tentacle, as it was going back to Frahma, suddenly reverses direction and catches him in the chest. Knocking the wind out of him and confusing him, Frahma unleashes an energy beam. More concentrated and well-aimed than the energy spheres, the beam pierces Lloyd through his heart. 

The look on his face is unbearable. 

To keep myself aloof from hurt, I am transforming, flying up to catch his body before it thuds painfully to the ground. Instead, I lower him gently and he takes a deep breath, unafraid of death. 

"Dart." He calls. "Rose." 

I frown at the red-clad warrior as he walks over to us. Wordlessly, Lloyd takes off something from his neck and tosses it at Dart. "His birth will be the death of the world. Hurry up and stop him. Here."

He catches it. "What is this?!" 

Lloyd turns his head to look at him. The blood is flowing freely, and I know that even if I staunch it now it would be too late. "It is the Dragoon Spirit of the Divine Dragon." He says. "You're going to have to help fulfill my utopia." 

Dart turns over the silver pendant in his hands. It glows, star-like. The Divine Dragon recognizes him as a worthy master. He slips the necklace over his head and around his throat. "Thank you, Lloyd." 

"And Rose…" he holds out his hand, and lying on his palm is a carved dragon hilt. "The Dragon Buster is yours. You're the only one who can use it." 

I take it, and suddenly ever piece of knowledge, about everyone who ever wielded the blade is in my mind. Its full power, its potential, and the movements it can and can't do. The Dragon Buster's hilt is carved out of a precious type of red crystal, in the shape of a dragon's head. The guard covers up to my forearm. I close my eyes for a second, wishing for the blade, and it appears, just because I willed for it to. That is one of the things that is unique about the Dragon Buster: its blade is retractable. The blade is like fire spouting from the mouth of the dragon, a shimmering yellow color, curved and jagged. I shift it over to my right hand, the Dark Death in my left. The Dragon Buster is heavy to hold in one hand, but I do not want to give up Michael's final gift to me. "Thanks, Lloyd. You came through in the end." 

Lloyd smirks. It is obvious he is in pain, as his breathing is labored, and every word is strained. But he just has to go out with a bang, doesn't he? "Don't get conceited. I just ended up here while I was pursuing my own ideals. It's not like we're the same or anything." 

I smile, for him, and he winks. 

"Don't get conceited." I echo his words. "I'll say hi to Wink for you." 

"You do that. But take care of this bastard too. I want my utopia to succeed even if I am not there to see it." 

"We will." Dart promises. "Thank you for your help." 

"Farewell, people who confront the fate of Soa." Lloyd smirks again and it turns into a grimace as he arches his back, gasping. With no one else here that would do so, I reach out and hold him, trying to lessen the pain, shutting my eyes. _There is no one here that knows Lloyd very well._ I suddenly realize. _Meru is perhaps the closest one to him and only because they are both Winglies. But it doesn't mean that I can't help him._ I tighten my arms, keeping him still throughout his struggling. The painful death throes don't have to be painful. I ease thoughts of peace into his mind, of what would happen after his utopia was fulfilled. 

When he suddenly falls flaccid, I release him, putting him back on the ground, gently. His eyes are closed, meaning he is content. _Does he trust us that we will help him? Does that make us friends?_ I run the palm of my hand along the length of his face, not quite touching, but giving him my blessing.

I look at Dart, asking him a silent question and he shakes his head, backing away to Shana's side again.

I start to close my eyes, lifting my hands, but Meru interrupts, kneeling beside me. 

"I'll do it." She says somberly. "He's my kin. I should be the one to help." 

I nod, moving to Zieg's side again. His vitals are normal; I can feel a steady heartbeat. I can hear Meru quietly singing the prayer to guide Lloyd's soul safely to the next world. When she turns back, I can see tears on her face, and I take her hand for a second to comfort her. 

Dart comes up besides us, and the rest of the team gathers around. "This is it, everyone. The final stretch. If anyone feels like they cannot pull it off, this is the time to leave." 

"No one here would do that. We have come too far and gone through too much to abandon our friends at this time, am I correct?" Haschel's words are rewarded by enthusiastic nods. "Dart, you look just like me when I was young. Did you notice? I didn't understand my daughter's pain at all. That's why I dragged it around until now. Shana is the chosen one, as the soul to destroy the world… When she discovered it, nobody but Shana suffered as much. When Shana comes around," he waves a hand at the unconscious girl. "I don't know where we will be. But I know one thing. Dart, you are the only one who can ease Shana's pain. But it won't be realized unless we stop the Wingly who wants to be a god. Now! Let's finish it up! I'll pound my secret art into his fat belly!"

Dart nods thoughtfully. "If anyone has any words to say, say it now. You may not have a chance later. Only do this if you are sure and you are ready. I don't want anybody regretting this."

Kongol's deep voice rumbles. "Emperor Doel would often say, "To make a world where all species are equal, a strong leader is needed." Kongol used to think that Dart was the strong leader, and Dart is strong leader. But I know. Anybody can make a world where all species are equal. Even if you are not Dragoon. Gigantos, Humans, Minintos, Winglies, anybody. Anybody having the feeling can do. But Kongol found out that anybody can destroy the world too. But we can stop him. Dragoons can save the world. Kongol, hero of Gigantos. Kongol doesn't fear god." He slammed the axe into the ground and lifted his head. 

"When I decided to go with you, Queen Theresa told me to learn the meaning of the 'fate' that Soa gave us." Miranda's voice has not lost its normal contempt. "This is what I think. Fate belongs to those who are living. We can destroy the fate that somebody else made up. And this is the moment. Dart, let's do it. Stop him for all living creatures and their fate!"

Albert held out his hand. "We have been together since the Moon Gem was taken and Lavitz passed away. We have fought, laughed, cried, and walked together all the way here. But we have the end the walk here. For the sake of the goal that led us here. And…for the sake of all living creatures. Now let's go!"

"Meru?" Dart asks.

The petite dancer starts to giggle hysterically, pirouetting wildly. "I was just gonna give you a little tour, but I ended up coming all the way here! But I was right." She pauses, her giggles fading away. She looks more serious than I had ever seen her. "I was right in following Dart. I realized it. In this world, there are lots of people living with lots of thoughts. So that there are lots of fights. But there is happiness and joy as well. This is such an awesome world; I won't let him destroy it! I'm totally ready to go!" 

"Rose?"

I pause. What can I possibly say? I want to apologize for my previous behavior, I want to tell them how much they mean to me, how far I would go for them, how far I had come already. But instead I just nod. I can't… "I'm ready. Let's go. Any time." I stroke the side of Zieg's face with a gentle hand. "Soon." I tell him. 

Dart kneels down next to his father, taking Zieg's limp hand. "Dad. I'm sorry we didn't figure out the truth soon enough. I'm sorry that we missed out on many years. But don't worry. After this is done, we'll all catch up. You can tell me what happened, and I'll tell you what's been going on. Okay, Father?" 

Melbu Frahma watches our little pep rally and spilling of souls without any expression on his face. He had earlier smiled at Meru's attempt to make Lloyd's passing easier, thinking her foolish. He smiles now, cruelly, at our motivational efforts. He doesn't care about us healing, because he figures it will not do us any good anyway. Of course he will defeat us, after all he is the all-powerful god of destruction and we are only seven measly little Dragoons, right?

Wrong. 

With the Dark Death in one hand and the famed Dragon Buster in the other, I stand, facing off. Dart joins my side, standing shoulder to shoulder, and without looking I can feel Albert, Haschel, Kongol, Miranda, and Meru move up next to us. Three swords, a lance, brass-tipped gloves, an axe, a bow and arrows, and a hammer. The seven of us, of all different races and sizes, are quite a crew. 

I lift my head proudly. I may die here. My life, gone. The joys of life, never mine. I might never feel the wind in my hair again, or the sweet tension of wings in the sky, or the welling up of restrained laughter, or the gentle warmth of a friend's love. I might die, move forever into the darkness. 

But I knew one thing.

__

That son of a bitch was gonna die first.

"Demon's Dance!" My two swords draw blood. First blood, sweet and tinged with a coppery scent. The Dragoon Spirit flares, and the gentle pain stretches my shoulders blades.

__

Change…change…

I allow the magic to sweep over me, changing every cell of my body. Stronger, faster, more agile, more powerful. I scream at the raw sheer power. Armor plating slides into place, veil-like powerful wings burst open, energy shimmering on me. The Dragon Buster is a heavy weight in my right hand, and the Dark Death a comforting presence in my left.

"Die! Dark Existence!"

The new spell flows straight from the core of my power, and out through my fingertips. Spider web strings lash out, latching onto him. Mind-link attached through physical contact, I pour out everything. I bring the darkness smaller, compressing it into him until it is a solid thing, sharp and painful. The darkness seeps into him, and I retract the appendages, the spell dissipating. 

I stand back while the others take their turn attacking, contemplating my next move. No longer could I act on impulse, using my most powerful attack simply because it was the strongest. I must think things out, because this was the most important battle of my life. Now I understand how Zieg felt when he fought one-on-one with Melbu Frahma's original form.

__

Zieg…my love…I do this for you.

Meru tosses in a Spectral Flash and I pause. Damn, now I need a different offense, instead of an attack item. The demon's body would have become attuned to the magic an attack item imitated, therefore making the second magic item basically useless unless it is interrupted with a physical attack or Dragoon magic. I need a different attack now.

As Kongol's axe comes down, Frahma moves one of the tentacles to block. In that instant, I dive forward, aiming for an exposed patch of soft skin. The second tentacle reaches out and I leap over it, thrusting the Dragon Buster. Frahma screams, tentacles flailing in reflex. I slash one, slicing the tip off, but the other one cuts across my cheek, like the Virage's tail did. It stings, and my head swivels on my neck, the momentum making me fall to the ground.

Kongol, who had not retreated after his attack, bends down and scoops me up, running back to the others and setting me down.

"Thanks, Kongol." I mutter.

"Moon Light!" Miranda's Dragoon spell heals the fresh scar on my cheek and brings slight energy back to us all, as well as draining some of the demon's power.

__

Good. Now as he is attuned to light energy, I can use darkness. We should do that, using the opposite elements after the attacks. Darkness to light, wind to earth, fire to water. "Astral Drain!" My attack imitates Miranda, but with darkness-based magic on Melbu Frahma. 

__

You are the devil that caused so much suffering to…to everyone. To the Moon Children. To the people you manipulated. To the Dragoons. To the Winglies. To the Virages. To me. I slash first with the Dragon Buster then with the Dark Death, an X on the sticky-appearing substance that binds him to the Embryo.

"Cat's Cradle!" Meru is thinking, I can tell just by looking at her fighting, a subtle change, but I had learned to read each and every one of them well.

__

Melbu Frahma, you tore Zieg from me. You took away eleven thousand years of potential happiness. You took away my chances of being content and blissful. Instead, you gave me over ten thousand years of suffering, labor, sacrifice, and pain. 

But then again, because of you, Zieg was married to Claire, and Dart was born.

Perhaps there are two sides to every story, both acceptable in different perspectives. 

But now, he threatened the fate of the world. It doesn't matter what good he did before. He needs to be stopped, _now_. I am sure that was what Dart had been thinking when we fought in the Death Frontier, after he discovered that I was the Black Monster that he hated so very much.

"Come!" Frahma claps his hands once, bellowing the command in a masculine tone. 

The ground shakes violently, and I careen my arms wildly, trying to keep my balance. 

The three Virages are not Super-sort, but powerful indeed. The jewels on their throats glow and the universe is filled with a pale green light. I cry out as fatigue runs through every part of me, helpless to defend against a physical magic attack. My swords drop and I put up a shield to try to block the pain but it doesn't work and all I can do is suffer. The Virages increase their attack and I can hear everyone's screams.

When the light fades the Virages are gone, with Melbu Frahma swerving around like a pendulum, craning his neck to look at each one of us, scattered about the cave. There is a vague look of triumph on his face. "Fools." He snaps in disdain. "No one can stand against the will of Soa! It's over!"

"Not yet!"

Miranda climbs to her feet, using her bow to steady herself. The attack had nearly knocked out all of us. She closed her eyes. "God save us!" She beseeches the entities. 

White light, pure this time, soft, surrounds me, and it is almost physical, holding me in a tender embrace. I whine softly, like an injured puppy. The light breaks into little orbs, fluttering around like faeries. But it is only an introduction to the streak that shoots down into the earth, the brightest purest light I have ever seen. Darkness pauses and watches in tired awe. 

Miranda exhales; the power is too much for her. "_Gates of Heaven!"_

The light beam changes, growing wider, filling the range of my vision. It swells like a snake just swallowing a large meal, until it strains at the edges and Miranda makes a motion with her hands. The bulge bursts open into a pair of gold-white wings like a white-fire phoenix. The faceless healing phoenix wraps its wings around us, and suddenly I am on my feet, swords in my hands, fully healed. The bruises on my skin are gone and the pounding in my head is gone as well.

The Sacred Sister falls to her side, struggling to get up. Watching my back, I make my way over to her. "That spell took a lot out of you. You weren't prepared to borrow that much Spirit from the universe. You should rest for a while until you get back your Spirit Points and your energy." 

She starts to snarl at me and then gives up, too tired. Lifting her to her feet, I help her over to a farther part of the cave, seating her on a clear spot near Shana and Zieg. "Get your power back and then come to help. Without your Spirit Points you can hardly do anything." I run back to the others.

Melbu Frahma snarls, his upper lip peeling back to reveal jagged teeth. Making a sharp summoning rune in the air with his torso's hands, he calls upon creatures to help. Typically weak monsters that we have fought along the way, such as Canbria Dayflies and Psyche Druids. 

"I'll take care of them!" I call to the others. "Concentrate on Frahma!" 

I scan my eyes quickly over the lesser enemies. A quick Dragoon elimination spell should take care of them. I hold the Dark Death parallel to my body like a candle, and the blood on it begins to drip. Upward. It crawls upward to the tip of the blade, and I narrow my eyes at it. The black-red blood spurts toward the enemies, coating them, marking them. I turn my back and make a sharp motion with my sword. "Death Dimension!"

The area around them simply freezes, stops and is suddenly gone. The rocks are there, although they are no longer the same rocks as they were before. The monsters are gone, shifted into a different plane, harmless to us now. 

I can see it move at the edge of my vision and I hurry upwards, but it is too late. The tentacle wraps tightly around my ankle, and I am dragged down. "Ow!" I yell as it hurls me against the ground and then jerks up, slamming me against the ceiling. The next time I hit the floor, I twist and slash at it with the Dark Death, successfully freeing myself. 

"Grand Stream!" Kongol cleaves the earth with his axe and the fracture runs along the ground to underneath Melbu Frahma, where it splits open entirely and stretches up to swallow him. He resists, pulling back, warding off the earth with his tentacles. Kongol calls it back.

I interrupt the flow of magic by transforming back to Human, and running forward. "Die! Demon's Dance" 

Frahma reels back from my physical attack and Meru takes this to her advantage. Tipping her hammer upside down so that she perches precariously on the tip of the handle by her toes, she clasps her hands together. Her armor and helmet fits her well, making her look elegant and stately, like a refined young woman. 

The ground underneath us turns to ice, and I crouch slightly to maintain my balance in the frictionless area. The ice cracks and lifts up, formulating a ring around Meru, swirling like an asteroid belt and she guides them forward. The ice crystals stick into a solid object, like a glacier, around Frahma and Meru claps her hands together. "Diamond Dust!" She pulls her hands apart and the ice breaks, disappearing.

The demon rears its head up, yelling incoherently. Seeing him ready for another attack, Albert raises his lance, in Dragoon form, ready to cast a spell. 

An arrow flies through the air and pierces Frahma's skin, buying us some time as he pauses and pulls it out. Miranda has disobeyed me, of course, and decided that she could help from a long range and she rebuilt her energy. It is a good thing too, since it has given us the amount of time needed for Albert to cast the spell.

A single red rose petal floats down, pressing itself against my cheek for an instant before letting gravity drag it to the ground. The single rose petal is soon replaced by hundreds, all of them floating down like rain. Albert begins his magic and I am reminded of something that happened nearly a thousand years ago. Her good friend Darius had filled her room entirely with flowers, roses.

__

"You like?" Darius appeared out of the air, picked up one lush red rose, and tossed it at her. She caught it with a warrior's reflexes.

"You did this?" She asked him, too shocked to yell at him.

"Yeah. It's why I was late. You told me that you didn't like your name, so I figured, if I surrounded you with roses, you might get to like them." Darius smiled.

I feel my mind smile wistfully at the memory. _Dar, you were always so sweet._

The rose petals lay on the floor now, and Albert picks them up with his mind, swirling them around us like a shield. "Rose Storm!" Green power, representing the wind, surrounds us. It will act as a defense for a while, giving us time to attack with some of our fiercest magic. 

"Demon's Dance!" Building up my Spirit Points for the fifth time, I transform to Dragoon, but instead of using magic, I try a physical attack. I duck in open spaces where the tentacles are too slow to catch me, jabbing here, thrusting there, too quick and agile for Frahma to swat aside. 

He casts the Virage spell again, and I dive out of the way to avoid being stepped on by one. 

The spell is not quite so painful this time, with Albert's defense magic taking most of the blow, and I can see the Wind Dragoon's brow break into sweat and he gasps. Dart runs to his side, pulling out a Healing Fog and pouring it into the Serdian King's mouth until he is rejuvenated.

__

Strange. Dart has not tried out his new Dragoon form yet. Why hasn't he? Is he afraid of it? No time to ponder about that now. I have to find out a way to bring the half-depleted energy back to the rest of the team. I cast a glance at Miranda, but she is still breathing hard, leaning against the wall with her bow in her hand. She is in no shape to try that Gates of Heaven spell again. It has taken too much out of her as it is. Maybe it is too strong a spell for mere humans to try, or even Dragoons.

Maybe this battle is too far out of our reach. We have been using our strongest spells and yet it does not seem that Melbu Frahma is weakening, while we have each been staring at Death at least twice now.

"Rainbow Breath!"

Meru hovers in the air, just out of the tentacles' reach, and twirls around gracefully, one, two, three times. Each time she does, a prism of light follows the movement. A rainbow circle appears at her ankles and she lifts her hammer high in the air. The rainbow light follows it, trailing upward and into the air. The colors break apart, disappearing into each of us.

It is not as effective as Miranda's healing spell, but it is better than nothing and quite impressive.

"I didn't know you had a healing spell." 

She shrugs. "It just came to me." 

I ignore the brief exchange, thinking. _Death…what is it? Will it come in a physical form and take my soul away? Will it be a figure dressed in black with his face shrouded in a hood? Or will it be a beautiful woman dressed in white with sad, sad eyes? Will I see it now?_

Reflexively I leap away from the tentacles, and that in itself tells me my answer.

__

No. 

I refuse to die now. My body says so, and with it, my mind. By jumping away, I have learned that I don't want to die. So I will keep fighting, alongside my friends.

"Die! More and More!"

My attack brings a new spasm of writhing to Frahma, and I step back, frowning. "What's going on?"

__

"The first generation!" The words come out of the demon's mouth in a hiss, the way a snake would sound if a snake could talk. The landscape shimmers, and I can feel powerful magic working, twisting the carefully fabricated threads of magic that are present here. 

Like harp strings being strummed, the magic shudders and changes. This is no other way to put it. The stone room filled with lava glows warps and moves without my feeling anything physical into empty space. 

Frahma has changed forms now. The Virage Embryo is nowhere in visible sight, and the demon himself is a monstrous creature, more terrifying then before, crafted of thick metals with indescribable features.

For a moment I am frightened, seeing my feet standing on nothing but void, with only the stars as features of the surroundings and unsure of the oxygen compartment here. I had learned how to hold my breath for a significant amount of time, but I do not think I can hold it long enough to defeat Frahma. 

But then I breathe deeply, restoring my calm. There is oxygen here, and my footing is solid. Perhaps it is only another illusion of the moon. But Frahma is still here, still alive, still powerful, until we kill him.

Apparently the others have reached the same conclusion. "Omni Sweep!" A powerful name, befitting the flurry of kicks and punches that Haschel delivers.

"Bone Crush!" Kongol's axe is strong enough to fulfill the reputation of its attack, the Giganto moving nimbly for one his size.

"Blossom Storm!" Such a delicate, seemingly feminine name for such a powerful attack, but Albert pulls it off with a masculine grace. 

Melbu Frahma staggers from the attacks pummeled onto him. A limb of some sort moves forward and he slashes it toward Meru. The petite Wingly female ducks and the glittering whip-like limb strikes Kongol's upper arm instead. Meru gasps, immediately looking up to apologize, but it did not hurt the Giganto hero as much as she had thought because he recovers instantly to toss in a magic item. 

"Demon's Dance!" I start the combination of sword dance motions, but when I am pivoting on the twirl, something stops me. A pulling, like gravity, but much stronger and more noticeable. A magical drawing. The demon is drawing me into him. I slash out with both swords but it is too late. 

Suddenly I am in a black void. The stars are gone and so are my friends and Frahma himself.

Sheathing both swords, I walk. I cannot even be scared as I had been when the first generation started, because there is no light here. I can't be frightened by the fact that I am walking on nothing because it is not a fact to me. It is simply too dark. I can't even see my own hand in front of my face.

"Dart?" I call out. 

There is no answer.

"Meru! Albert!" I raise my voice, starting off in one direction. It is so dark in here, I can't see anything, but desperation fuels me and I start to run, frightened at the lack of senses I seem to be having. "Kongol? Haschel?" My demands for their appearances deteriorates into pitiful whines, begging. "Miranda? Zieg? Anyone?"

I am running, furiously. "Is anyone here?" I scream. 

To test reality as I had before, I reach for my swords. Gone! Where are my swords? They could not be gone; I had just sheathed them a few moments ago. Moments? Hours? How much time has gone by? I grasp at the belt on my hips to find that is no longer there either. Frantic, I strike at myself and nothing is there. 

I gasp, terrified now, too completely irrational to figure out how illogical that was. It should not be hard to find oneself like this; normally all one has to do is reach out to oneself and find the body. The mind controls both parts, the part that is trying to find and the part that will be found. But this is like groping around in the dark for something foreign.

Foreign? How do I know my body belongs to my mind? Maybe it is two different things, and I am gone now. 

"Where am I?" I yell at the nonexistent entities. "Why am I here, when I should be fighting beside my friends?"

My friends? If they are my friends, why are they not here with me? Why am I alone in the darkness again? Deprived of all sensations, I lash out at the things I cannot see with my fists, to strike nothing but what air is composed of. 

Friendship. What a terribly confusing and _annoying_ concept. It screws with my mind, making me believe for one glorious moment that I had friends, people that cared about me, about what happened to me. It had clouded my mind, but now truth comes back to me. I am alone. I have always been alone and I must always be alone. Friendship is but an idealistic theory imagined by someone to take away the loneliness. But my friends would be here if I wanted them to, wouldn't they? And I want them to, but they are not here. They cannot be my friends then. I am alone. I am the darkness, forever eternal and forever separated.

Pain flashes in my eyes as light returns to them and I can see again. I am hurtling through the air at unlikely speeds. I crash into something soft and tumble to solid ground. 

The old man with the black hair and moustache, dressed in a violet fighting uniform, climbs to his feet. He reaches out a hand to help me to mine as well, and I am confused.

__

Why do you help me, old man? I wonder, but he grasps my arm and hauls me to my feet. A name comes to my mind, a former memory.

__

Haschel. That's right. You like to act younger than your age, and you're Dart's grandfather. You are the Violet Dragoon and you and Meru like to pull jokes on people, especially Miranda and me. You are my friend…

Melbu Frahma's torture clears out of my mind when I shake my head, growling and I am back. My memories, and the reasoning of knowing my friends. I look around at the six Dragoons and I am reassured. _You bastard, what the hell did you almost do to me? You almost made me throw away one of my most prized possessions!_

"Demon's Dance!" The words are snarls from my mouth, unholy and foreign. 

The demon draws another toward him, Albert this time, and I scream, my hands reaching out to grab the Serdian King, but he is gone. Must he too, feel the torment? 

"Let him go!" I yell, abandoning the sword dance combination of Demon's Dance and furiously slashing wherever with both swords until Melbu Frahma raises the light tentacle and swats me away like an annoying fly. 

Albert is shot out then, towards me. I am knocked back at his force and quickly climb to my feet, extending my hand. "Come on, King of Serdio, we're your friends. Let's get a move on."

My summarization must have helped him because he is back quicker than I had been, nodding. 

"Divine Dragon!" A brief flash of silvery light makes me turn my head toward the red-clad warrior. He is clenching the Dragoon Spirit that Lloyd had given him in one fist, holding it high in the air. The light spills down and surrounds him. I shut my eyes for a second as the illumination is too much for my pupils, which cannot contract that quickly. 

__

Good gods!

The Divine Dragoon is enormous, half a head taller than Kongol! Silver armor covers every inch of him except for his throat and face. Even the arm plating covers his hands, so that the hilt of his sword is hidden underneath it. The jewel on his chest is the pale green with the red slit of the Divine Dragon's main eye and his arms are incredibly long, giving him a skeletal look. The armor is rippled and scaled, like the skin of the Divine Dragon itself. Seven wings, silver and lava-colored, protrude from his back. I don't know how they all came from his shoulder blades, but good gods, it is monstrous and colossal and absolutely amazing. 

"Divine Cannonball!" 

Like an atomic bomb exploding, the force of Dart's attack manages to make Frahma spin like a twisted pendulum and when he turns back his face and voice sound surprised and wise at the same time. _"The second generation." _

The warp-speed stars and black void pauses. Everything seems to stop, including the devil himself, with a smirk on his face. Kongol is standing in the center of us all, and at his feet there is something spreading, growing. A patch of earth? Floating in what is seemingly nowhere, it spreads out like a bloodstain on a white carpet, until it is stretching past the horizons and it we are back on what looks like a planet again. 

Meru stoops down and grabs a fistful of earth. "It's real. There's dirt and the little rock things—what are they called, gravel?—and grass and oh gross, a worm." She shakes off the dirt and the worm and brushes her hands clean. 

The land was barren and rocky, like a desert, forever stretching. But what worried me was not where we would go from here, but where Melbu Frahma was. 

"What happened? Rose, Albert, where did you two go?"

"One of Melbu Frahma's attacks was to draw his opponents into a void. It was like being deprived of your senses. I lost the feelings that create me and I had to find my way back. Thank you, Haschel." I say to the surprised martial artist. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is the world."

__

"The Third Generation."

The magic warps again, as it had the first two times. The sky, which had been relatively cloudy but acceptable, darkened. A chilly wind blew from nowhere, blowing my hair into my face. I pull the dark strands away to see that the clouds had become black, and lightning is illuminating the dark sky, followed immediately by thunder. 

__

What the hell is he trying to do? 

The wind increases in speed, and I brace my feet against the ground to avoid flying. Meru, the lightest of all of us, is picked up into the air despite her heavy hammer. But luckily for her, Haschel and Kongol are right behind her and they reach up to catch her before she is blown away. 

Mist starts to form, creeping along the ground and twining around my ankles like it is alive. I kick at it, shaking my leg, but it clings. I do not like the feeling of this mist. It is not like I have never seen mist before, but this seems untrue, not real, not right.

"_The fourth generation."_

The mist suddenly retreats, pulling away from me back into the cliff-like formations that are protruding out of the earth. The rain stops and the wind slows to a gentle breeze. The clouds disappear, leaving a calm night dotted with stars. Like being lost somewhere in the desert at night. 

There is a sliver in the sky, as if someone had taken a sword and sliced a hole in the sky. A tear, glowing with pale blue light, a fissure crack, looking almost like a different galaxy. 

I turn at Miranda's gasp to see that our opponent has returned, in a different form.

Like a spaceship he was, with a large bulging body and a face that revealed as a machine-like component. He reminds me of hundreds of the gears that I had seen in giant clock towers pieced together. 

I could feel his evil smile rather than see it. And that brought out a part of me that I had learned to hide. The Black Monster. No, I would never free it unless I absolutely needed to, and if it was for evil purposes. I frown, building up yet another wall of self-control as I transform.

"Darkness Dragon!" When Michael's shade's attack is finished, I immediately cast another. "Dark Existence!" I know the penalty for casting two magic spells in a row without pausing, but this feeling that rises inside me…it's like…like the tide swelling up or a pregnant bud ready to give birth to a flower. This new sensation is all-consuming and makes me feel lightheaded, the way I had always felt when Dart showed…the same feeling I am experiencing now.

__

Am I finally being able to have the same emotions as he? 

Still, emotions or not, it cannot battle the magic depletion. I swallow as the fatigue runs through me and I have to swoon. 

Miranda immediately comes over, grabs both my swords in one hand and my arm in the other, fairly dragging me to the sidelines, away from Frahma's normal attack range. "You stupid witch." She curses under her breath. But she is hissing at me not from sheer rage, but from angry concern that I would do something irresponsible like that. It is like she is the Dragoon with the thousands of years of experience and I am the rookie. "What possessed you to cast two of your most powerful Dragoon magic attacks in a row?"

I swallow the Healing Fog she holds out to me. "Passion…" I murmur. 

She sighs melodramatically. "You rest, witch." She uses the term not nastily. It is like she believes it is my actual name. I suppose she means it fondly. "When you come back, you better be ready to fight correctly again."

I nod obediently, the effects of the spell she put on me starting to seep in. I don't resist the sleeping herbs this time, and I welcome the well-deserved rest. _Just for a little moment._ I tell myself. _Then I'll be ready to fight again, this time properly and responsibly. _

Even as I drift into unconsciousness, a small part of my soul is wondering. _Is that what passion can do to someone? Feel her with such a strange and powerful emotion so that she does reckless and irresponsible things? _

Passion always wins over reason. I tell it with half a mind. _That's how powerful it is. That must be why Dart never gives up._

Dart… I come out of my trance, fully charged and ready to fight again. My Spirit Points are depleted but that can be rectified with a few rounds of Demon's Dance. 

My mind finds full battle mode just as Melbu Frahma makes a gesture toward the sky. The sliver there sets and the sun rises. Just like that. _Has he the power to control _time_ itself?_

Soa. Soa is the reason for all this. But strangely enough I do not find myself in the rage that I always experienced when I realized who was behind the suffering I had. Thoughts, strange and unbidden, march a parade through my head. _Zieg wasn't evil. He was being controlled by Melbu Frahma. But it seems Frahma is not evil as well. He is only trying to carry out Soa's will, the will of the god that created all of us. So is Soa the evil one, the one behind all this? But…Soa isn't evil. Perhaps there is no true evil in the world, only opinions. Soa isn't the evil one. Not only because it was it that created us, but because he has a logical explanation. To recreate the world, to take away all the suffering and begin a new generation of perfection and peace. To take away the murders and the killings, the rapes and the matricides. There is reason behind his theory. But he had miscalculated one thing. He didn't expect that the creatures he had already created, the creatures that have life, would stand against him. He didn't think they wouldn't want to give up their life._

Well, what did you expect? That we would just sit here and wait for our destruction!? No! I'll fight against you and your fate to defend my friends and myself. For everyone and everything that was ever sacrificed on this journey, I fight. For the Dragoons of the ancient powers. Shirley, Kanzas, Belzac, Syuveil, Damia. I fight for you. For the 108 Moon Children that had to die to keep you from killing us all.

"Demon's Dance!" 

__

Miraka, you were the very first. Such a sweet child, who smiled at me when I leaned over you with a naked sword in my hand. It almost made me change my mind, to turn and flee this sin. But I didn't, because that would have been a greater sin. Tyoshi, who giggled, the second victim of that curse. Then many more, too many more. Pai, who would have been a simple shepherdess in a faraway land. Kila, an infant that radiated magic power. Osaka, the first male Moon Child. At first, I thought I had the wrong child, and I fled the house in fear, but when it was verified I had to sneak back in. Wial, the sixth one. You hit me when I reached out for you. I paused, so frightened and regretful. Torrin, you were the seventh. Then Payton, the bald one, then Catryn, so sweet as she slept, then Evelyn who didn't even cry.

"Omni Sweep!"

__

Sa, Mierk, Rirse, Alucard, Farryn, Anjela, Shiara, Kano, Atkeno, Saluck

"Cat's Cradle!" 

__

Warez, Yotoh, Isehlos, Perclymj, Iao, Timano, Torwz, Rokan, Morshak, Mezoso. Ten male Moon Children in a row.

"Bone Crush!"

__

Mahs, Pallay, Lishatar, Cora, Misa, Tiseka, Istea, Mkya, Keit, Samean. Ten females.

"Blazing Dynamo!" 

__

Arybant, Roupi, Traaz, Yaro, Ishak, Mlarta, Imaina, Chiwok, Idda, Siban.

"Blossom Storm!" 

__

Chao, Bya, Lta, Plarm, Ifai, Kanbe, Tomaira, Weelson, Tarita, Lira.

Melbu Frahma hisses in pain and rage at the torrent of attacks that rip open what is perhaps flesh. A flashing fireball comes from him, landing on the ground in front of our feet. It explodes into magma, forming a circle around us. Heat sears my face and I throw up an arm to shield myself. Fire, surrounding us…I am reminded of the arrows of fire that the townspeople had shot at me five thousand years ago when they thought I was a witch and responsible for the terrible disease that had killed their magistrate's twin daughters.

Dart takes a deep breath, sucking in the pyro-energy of the flames and feeding it into his own energy, drawing it into healing power. 

Frahma lashes out with something invisible, and it catches across my face, knocking me back. I wipe the trace of blood off my mouth.

__

For Tariento, Morga, Kacdra, Chava, Mariya, Laveero, Miskoa, Eeven, Jayne, Sou.

The next healing item brings a circle of ice over our heads, like the palace of the Ice Queen in the myths. A chandelier carved of glittering ice crystal hovers above me and I crane my neck up to look at it. 

Frahma makes a movement of his hand and it falls, faster than I can comprehend. The giant icicle pierces my torso and searing pain suddenly rips through me. I scream, the white-blue ice stained instantly with the dark red of my blood. I choke on my own blood. 

"Gods!" The others run over. Kongol gives me a warning look right before he yanks the icicle out of my chest. I scream again at the pain.

Haschel and Meru keep the demon distracted from making another attack while Dart forms warmth in his hand, holding it close to me so that the remaining ice inside my body melts. I arch my back, hissing. 

"Hang in there. It's almost done." Albert says, holding my hand tightly. I am glad to have a friend like him by my side, caring and reliable. He will be a wonderful king if we ever get out of here, compassionate person that he is. "Don't you dare die on us."

"I'm not dying." I growl. "Not until he's dead. I've been through worse injuries by myself."

"Yeah, well, this time you're with friends. This is going to hurt." Miranda puts one hand over my forehead and the other over my wound. "Healing power of the White Silver Dragon!" 

I can't muffle the shriek of pain as my skin regenerates in a matter of seconds and patches itself back together. Albert and Dart take in deep breaths when my nails dig into their skin. I am almost laughing, for some reason. Mortals…Humans… 

When the pain is gone and Miranda stands up, the wound is closed and although sore, I am otherwise fine. No time for gratitude, we rush back to battle positions. _Not going to die._ I will myself. _I'm not going to die until I make sure the world is safe. For the Moon Children that were sacrificed, for my friends that were sacrificed._

Liza-Jane, Tia, Aloria, Selwin, Bocner, Eria, Devskai, Mingyue, Kay, Phoebe, the eightieth. 

I pour the Healing Fog down Meru's throat when she passes out in fatigue, then stand protectively in front of her unconscious body should Melbu Frahma attack her. But it is unlikely that he would attack a downed warrior. Probably he would attack the ones still fighting him, the ones still drawing his blood.

__

Ahna, Crystal, Mikihel, Lindsaya, Leah, Sara-Kate, Alexis, Tonie, Christin, Jordan.

"Astral Drain! Aah!" 

__

Mayra, Erikk, Andurs, Karatosis, Alvara, Amandee, Tara, Daniella, Stefan, Clymene.

A whirlwind appears, unsurprising, for nothing can surprise me anymore. Knowing I cannot fight it and will just waste my strength if I do so, I clench myself tight and hold my swords as the wind lifts me up and swirls me around and around. It is an unpleasant experience, not at all like when Michael swooped through the air and I had to laugh from sheer joy.

When I am deposited unkindly back onto the ground, my head throbs like after I stretch past my limits in the mornings and the blood rushes to my head. I take a few seconds to regain my equilibrium, for one slightest mistake could mean the end of my life.

The few seconds brings Frahma enough time to slash out with his invisible psychic attacks, sending Haschel sprawling onto the ground. The Rouge martial artist groans as he climbs back to his feet. Perhaps he needs a rest. This must be too tiring for his bones. But I do not suggest it.

__

Tirana, number 101, then Meeshell, Zane, Franco, Joan, Elizabeth, Davidien.

Shana. 

Too many people had died in order to preserve the world. _I'll not let their deaths be in vain! _

Even those that weren't Moon Children, but had to die simply because.

Louvia, who was innocent, a victim of my mistake. Greham, who died for his honor. Doel, a misunderstood tyrant. Lenus, who died for her unrequited love. Gehrich, Haschel's student who reacted wrongly to his exile. Lavitz, who died to protect his king. Feyrbrand, Regole, Michael, the Dragons. Damia, Shirley, Syuveil, Belzac, Kanzas, the original Dragoons.

Those who were hurt. 

Drake, guardian of Shirley's shade. Wink, her love unknown. Emille, staying in her tower in Fletz, wondering if Albert was still safe. Kristoff from a thousand years ago. Darius, with his gentle sweet humor. Thousands more. 

Lloyd. Zieg. 

Names parade through my head, wailing songs of lament and sorrow. It is for them that I fight, for them that I will defeat the Melbu Frahma, for them that I go against fate!

The passion, the adrenaline, gives me a bout of sudden strength. Demon's Dance is a fluid combination that makes power flows through me and into Frahma, stunning him. 

__

I don't care if you are the god who created me, Soa. If you want to kill me, you can bet your divine ass that I won't go down without a fight! Soa, you were a fool to think that your "creations" would just lay down and wait to be annihilated. How can you be a god if you don't know your own people, your own worshippers, your own creations? I'm going to fight for those in the past, present, and future. 

There is one more person that has seen the past and the present and may not live to see the future that I fight for.

Rose. All her forms, all her times. The spoiled little brat in the past, who changed. The gentle soul who was so deeply in love, who died when Zieg was torn from her. She died then, the old Rose. Rose who had to kill the Moon Child every 108 years, and died with them. Rose, who was awakened by Dart in the forest and is now fighting Melbu Frahma for the sake of the world. It is also for her, myself, that I fight. 

"Death Dimension!" 

"Meteor Strike!" 

Melbu Frahma is knocked back at the force of the simultaneous blows, crashing into one of the cliff-like formations behind him. 

__

"The fifth generation."

Silent music fills my ears, and I sit on the ground, watching the earth intently. It is shimmering, the way a lake surface wavers. Something jumps out, making me lurch back. A crystal-fish, a very rare species, seemingly made of nothing but rose quartz and peridot. It leaps out, makes a perfect arc and then dives back into the water-earth.

The ground transforms under my feet, the dull gray and brown turning to a lush green field as if someone had painted it over. Grass so fresh that I can smell it. Groves of trees spring up. A tree frog croaks and I hear a blue jay chatter, mixed in with a cardinal's sweet trill.

Paradise…

I close my eyes; I can't help it. I inhale the smell of the fresh grass and listen to the songs of the birds. I reach down and cup a flower against my hand. It is like everything is perfect. 

__

Is this the fifth generation? It seems normal, almost like a few years before the present day… 

Gods! That's his power! I suddenly realize the key to Melbu Frahma/Virage Embryo's power. The one thing he rules over that cannot be ruled or changed.

__

TIME. 

Gods above and hells below, this bastard rules _time_. No wonder he's been showing us the generations! It's the timeline of Endiness, from the nothingness of space to a barren land to rain to earth formations and light to the beauty of nature. Time ruled everything and it was a small surprise why he could take so much fight from us, because time could never be defeated. 

__

"The sixth generation!" 

__

The final generation.

Carved reliefs float in front of my eyes. An old woman holding hands with a little girl who had her hair in pigtails. Two lovers embracing in fear. Two armies clashing. A baby boy clutching at the index finger of his mother. 

The world burning. People turning to skeletal creatures and dissolving.

__

Is this what he thinks will happen next?

I steel myself. I will struggle against this, if this is the fate that awaits us.

Melbu Frahma appears, dropping out of the sky and hovering a few feet off the ground.

Think mushroom. Think umbrella. Think seahorse. Think scorpion. Think titanic. Think _ugly_. And there you have the final form of the demon god.

Meru screeches as he attacks immediately, tossing a Fire attack item at her. Her skin scorched, she retaliates with Freezing Ring, which makes him back up a few feet.

__

You almost made me forget my own existence. You almost made me forget my friends. 

The Minintos' words float back into my mind.

__

"For we are only real if we believe we are. Do you believe in your own existence?"

It had been haunting me but I finally have an answer.

__

Yes. 

I believe I am here, with the Super Virage's scar on my face, with a hole in my new armor, with my friends beside me. I believe I am here, and I believe that they are here with me too. I believe in Meru's sweet voice and watery spirit as she calls out her magic attacks, in Miranda's spicy cinnamon and peach perfume and light-like kindness. In Haschel's breathing as this is a strain on his back and steady as thunder reliability, in Kongol's muscles straining as he lifts the axe high and his earth-strong compassion. In Albert's purity as he casts Rose Storm on all of us and the gentle wind of his caring, and in Dart's fiery passion, so strong I can feel it physically.

In my own pain and newfound joy. The darkness that had light.

I think I am starting to forgive myself.

Frahma plunges forward, ramming all of us backward because he is so large and powerful. He pulls back, screaming, and two monsters come to help him. Pawns, dazed and confused, here to obey him and nothing else. I pity them.

"Demon's Dance!" One combination is enough to down one. Kongol quickly takes care of the other with a swift cleaving of his axe.

Frahma lashes out again, and a sharp pain manifests at my left wrist. The Dark Death is swiped away, landing somewhere in oblivion far away. 

"You _bastard_!" I scream. _That was Michael's gift to me! How dare you!_

It would be too selfish and time-consuming for me to go get the Dark Death. Melbu Frahma had tossed away one of the only remains I had of my old friend. I shift the Dragon Buster to be held in both hands. "Demon's Dance!" Anger lends me strength, but I have to calm myself before my judgment is clouded. I know that anger makes you strong, but it also makes you pivot half a second too slow, or bring down the blade a moment ahead of time.

I reach into one of the numerous pouches attached to the belt at my hips. My fingers close around a small bottle, a familiar cool weight, and I pull it out.

Instead of being filled with the illuminated blue liquid of a Healing Fog, it is filled with black smoke.

Michael's gift to me.

I lift it to my lips, taking the cork out. I inhale the smoke, letting it power me for a moment, bathing in its comforting familiarity before tossing it into the massive bulk that is the body of the Virage Embryo. 

"My Spirit. My memories. My thoughts." I shout to it. _You can never take those things from me! Michael and others died to prevent this—you—from happening. _

As the black smoke engulfs Melbu Frahma with its sheer emotion and preciousness to me, I wonder if I would have done the same to Shana. She was the one who would have been the Virage Embryo. Would I have defeated her, tried to kill her like this, with the same raw emotion? 

My memories and the way I feel about everything, about that black smoke, is trapped within the dark fog as it swirls around Frahma. He yells, flying away but it clings to him. I control it with my mind, broadcasting my hate and suffering and agony into his mind, forcing a distant mind-link and attacking his mind.

Vaguely I can feel the others doing the same. Miranda with her flower petals, Haschel with his daughter's headband, Kongol physically with his axe, Albert with the two shards of light and darkness, Meru with the circlet that the Archangel had given her. Each of us attacks with an emotional fierceness that the demon could never hope to achieve. Raw passion that the god could never understand, because she/he could never understand what she/he is not. Soa may have created us, but it didn't mean that the god understood us. We were fighting our creator now, aren't we?

Watching them fight, I know that everything would be all right. Even if I were to die now, everything would still end up okay, because everyone's attributes and unique capabilities gave the world a chance. Soa would be defeated and the world would go on. 

And humankind owed it all to passion.

=============================================================================

Author's Note: Done! Now all that's left is the epilogue, which will be posted shortly and then this entire thing is done. I know, lousy ending, but I just totally came up against writer's block. Again, I apologize if any of the names I've listed are related to anyone you know, but it's unlikely since they're mostly strange names. One of them is mine, can you guess which one?


	13. Epilogue: Freedom

Author's Note: Please forgive me for writing this spoiler ****

Author's Note: Please forgive me for writing this spoiler. But I just couldn't help it. I put it in words that I hope are symbolic, but I'm a crappy writer. The bold italic sentences are the lyrics to the song. Thanks to Kaiyote for the lyrics. 

Melbu Frahma screamed.

It had been Dart that delivered the final blow to the reincarnated Wingly emperor. I do not know where his energy came from, fate perhaps, but it was strong enough to kill the demon. The explosion from the mutated Wingly sent streaks of fire through the entire cavern, knocking the Dragoons, so that we have to flap like demons in order to stay aloft. 

"Shana!" Dart yells, his eyes searching. 

The girl is just regaining consciousness, groaning. But she is not stupid. She knows what is going on, and she knows that it is time to get out of here. "Dart!" She screams, reaching her hand out for him.

The warrior, now silver-clad, lands softly beside her, despite the heavy armor that triples his size. Reaching down one enormous armored arm, he scoops up his childhood friend so that she sits safely on his elbow, choking back a sob.

I see this with half a mind. I ignore the flames searing my skin, and land on my feet next to Zieg. He is awake now, his eyes open and staring at the ceiling, but no expression on his face. 

"I have been waiting for this moment." I say, softly. _I've been waiting for over 11,000 years, never once forgetting you._

His voice is gentle as he replies; I kneel down beside him, gathering him in my arms. "I kept you waiting for…so long. I'm sorry." he looks older than I last saw him, his fair hair growing paler with gray, and lines around his eyes, but it does not matter. I am old too. It is only because of the choker I wear that I am immortal. 

He reaches up and gently traces one finger along the scar on my face that I had received from the Super Virage. It is a relief to know that the Zieg I saw in Aglis and Zenebatos and Mayfil was not the same Zieg from 11,000 years ago. He is still kind and gentle, and I still love him. 

Haschel yells a warning and Miranda screams. I lift my head to see.

"What?" The leader of our Dragoons turns to see that Melbu Frahma has pulled himself together. A new form, a hideous one. His face is scarred with fire, in tones of green and blue. His lower body is a sphere of green power, and his arm a long ridged tentacle. I swallow a rising of bile.

"How dare you!" he all but spat. "Inferior humans cannot outshine me! A god!"

"Rose." Zieg calls my name, softly, and I turn my attention back on him. He does not seem to be bleeding, but he seems weak, almost resigned. His breathing is labored, and his words hesitant. Is he dying? He speaks slowly. "Rose, the time has come. This is the end of our long journey."

**__**

"I had a dream that I could fly."

"Zieg." I whisper. I understand his meaning. 

His voice is almost small, as if unsure. "Could you…come with me?"

I bury my face in his chest. "Yes. I will never leave you again." I vow. _And I mean it. I will give my life to be with you. Like you said before, even if one of us dies, our bonds of affection will last forever._

I help him to his feet. He is weak, but determination drives him. The red-eyed Dragon still recognizes him, and he transforms with the grace that I remember from 11,000 years ago. Wordlessly, I hold out the Dragon Buster, and he meets my eyes. I nod, and he takes the blade. Pushing off together, we glide through the air. 

**__**

"I can feel each moment as time goes by."

Melbu Frahma launches an attack of green light toward the Dragoons. Dart, with his large armor, blocks the way, positioning himself so that Shana is not hurt, absorbing the attack. It leaves scratches on his invincible armor, and I have no doubt that he is in pain. "Damn!" he swears, grimacing.

**__**

"We'll never be too far away."

Zieg slashes with the Dragon Buster, and the Wingly Emperor does not see him until too late. The limb that is shooting at Dart drops off, falling down into the abyss. An explosion tears at my armor. My love speaks, his voice quiet, but somehow loud enough so that it deafens even the shouts of the Dragoons and the dying screams of Melbu Frahma. 

"Dart, you have grown up."

**__**

"You would always be here, I heard you say."

Dart looks around for the voice. "F-Father?"

Zieg's voice is sad. "I couldn't do anything for you as a father. Please, forgive me."

**__**

"I never thought…"

Dart knows that Zieg is not only asking forgiveness for the past, but for what he—we—must do. "But Father, we finally met! It's not fair!"

__

The world isn't fair. Haven't I taught you that? I smile. I am probably wrong to interrupt this moment, but if I do not speak now, I will not have the chance later.

**__**

"Thought that it would be out last goodbye."

"Dart!" I call, and his gaze shifts toward me. His eyes widen, as if for the first time realizing that I am with Zieg as well. "Dart, I'm so glad I met you."

__

I'm so glad I met all of you.

I smile at all my friends. Talkative and playful Meru. Strong and reliable Kongol. Forthright and friendly Haschel. Wise and kind King Albert. Harsh and loyal Miranda. Beautiful and gentle Shana. Heroic and passionate Dart. All of them had always been there for me, and I had taken them for granted. 

Even Lavitz, chivalrous and faithful Lavitz, who had sacrificed himself to save his King. He had tried to speak to me during the short part of the journey he was in. I had not forgotten him. The others thought I was a cold detached woman with harsh words and a nasty temper, but in actuality, I was simply afraid of losing my friends again, after what had happened in the Dragon Campaign, the terrible memories that I had been afraid to show them. But I needn't had feared. 

Now after 11,000 years, I see how wrong I was.

**__**

"I still can dream…"

"Rose! Father!"

"Good bye, Dart." Zieg whispers, and I know that if I look at him, I will see his eyes wet.

**__**

"That one day love will fall out from the sky."

I had always thought that when death came, I would face it screaming and struggling. But now, as I flew toward Melbu Frahma, my sword raised, with my love beside me, I felt an unusual sense of peace. I now understood Shirley and Shana, how they had embraced the world's suffering as their own and cared for strangers without even the slightest thought of selfishness.

**__**

"Do you still remember all the time that has gone by?"

This was the least I could do, as a repayment. To all my friends, for all their kindness to me. To Dart, for trusting me even though he learned that I was the Black Monster who had destroyed his hometown. To all the people that I had killed, to repay them, to make sure that there would be no need for a 'demon', a 'black monster' ever again. To all the monster creatures, who were not as mindless as I had thought, because they had lives and a right to live, just as Humans.

**__**

"Do you still believe that love can fall out from the sky?"

So right now, as Zieg and I struggle to our deaths, hands held, shoulders touching, wings beating simultaneously, I am not afraid. 

__

I'm sorry, Dart, but my time was over 11,000 years ago.

****

"If from where you're standing, you can see the sky above…"

Death was not so bad once you accepted it. And after all this time, I finally understood honor, its price, and its prize within itself.

**__**

"I'll be waiting for you; do you still believe in love?"

Every time a new Dragoon had joined the team, I had foolishly passed it off as a wild coincidence. But perhaps it was Fate that bound us all together, kept us together, kept the Dragoon Spirits alive.

But then again, what was Fate?

Dart had said, before we entered the Moon, that he would take Shana back from even "Fate" herself. 

**__**

"Find the way to bring back yesterday."

Maybe Fate was only the infinite amount of possibilities. Maybe there was no "one" direct unchangeable path for everyone. Maybe Fate could change, by the actions that one did. Maybe one could manipulate Fate, and change her own destiny, choose her own path. Fate was only the ultimate 'if' in the world.

Then Zieg and I chose our own paths, and willingly. This is what we must do. This is what we want to do.

**__**

"Find a way to love…"

"Goodbye, Dart, and thank you." 

__

Thank you for proving to me, after all this time, that I can have friends.

I smiled at him, a private smile meant only for him.

__

Damia, I had promised to you that I would come when things were over. I always keep my promises.

****

"I hope you'll stay, when tomorrow becomes today…"

Twin swords flash, one fiery and one dark, both blades piercing the weak spot in the god of destruction's heart. 

**__**

"Love will find a way…"

The stored energy within Melbu Frahma/Virage Embryo exploded outward, devastatingly, fatally, and still Zieg and I stayed. Unafraid, because it was for my friends, for the innocent people waiting down there on the planet. 

**__**

"I'll be waiting for you, in my heart you are the one."

I could see the Dragoons flying off; wings beating just like my friends had 11,000 years ago. They all look back, but they do not stop. I call after them. "My role has ended. Blaze the way to the future by yourselves." _My work is done. I have taught you. You understand the power and responsibilities of being Dragoons. I hope—I know—you will do well. You can take care of yourselves now._

****

"If I cannot find you, I will look up to the sun."

"This is your time to live…and shine." Again Zieg's voice is quiet and resigned, but I know that Dart and the others can hear him. I hold him tightly, tears staining his armor.

Dart's voice floats back to us, as if he expects us to follow him. "What are you talking about? We'll all live together!"

**__**

"If from where you standing, you can see the sky above."

Now even my voice is quiet, and I am crying shameless tears, but I do not care. "We were never meant to exist in this time."

"NO!"

"My age ended…in remote activity." _Eleven thousand years, Dart. I was never meant to see you. But I am so glad that I did. You changed my life, you know._

****

"I'll be waiting for you, if you still believe in love."

"Rose!"

"Farewell, Dart…and…thank you."

__

You'll understand sometime, Dart. You of all people will understand. Your heroic passion was risky at times, but it always pulled you through. You should understand why we had to do this, and you should know why we did it willingly. Your father is a good man, Dart, and you took after him.

"Rose! Father!"

The explosion hurt, but just for a moment. Just like love. I didn't know how long death took, but Zieg and I held each other all the time and then my spirit rose from my body, and I was finally _free_.


End file.
